Model Behavior
by Bounemr
Summary: After the Showcase, the Lumiose City Police Department's investigation into the attacks on the city using mega pokemon to wreak havoc uncovers Gabriel Agreste as being the man instigating it all. Adrien goes alone after his father, who has fled the city, and his friends have not heard from him in three months. They've reached the tipping point, and set out to find their friend.
1. Overture

**A/N: This story is a sequel to _Showcase_ , so you may be inclined to read that first**

* * *

 **9 November**

A gentle gust pushed past a window, stirring papers scattered through the too-large room. The hinges of the window creaked ever so gently, and open books turned pages to an unknown story. The only light, aside from that of the moon and the city from outside, came from a dim, quiet computer screen. It's accompanying desk was a mess of notebooks and folders and the breeze, captured in that room, strained to push them onto the floor with their kin. Unsuccessful, it twisted, spun, and petered out. The speakers next to the monitors whispered to the empty chair.

"And despite the fact that he has still not been apprehended, there has been no sign of any more attacks since the premiere showcase last month. The previous longest time between attacks since the first was about a week, so it seems that, free or not, the one behind this is not continuing his terrorism while in hiding.

"On a related story, the city has commissioned sculptor Theo Barbeau to create a statue dedicated to the trainers who helped our brave officers combat these devastating attacks. Ladybug and Chat Noir, and Ms. Bustier's homeroom class from College Francois Dupont. The statue will also include a memorial to the people and pokémon who lost their lives in the worst of the incidents. Look forward to the unveiling in Jaune Plaza. The day of unveiling is as of yet unknown."

The video paused, finished, buffered, and replayed. Books stirred in another gentle breeze, as if trying to capture the story from the computer onto their pages. Little model people lay scattered and broken next to the overturned foosball table they were supposed to be playing on. A few were resting, as if sleeping, on the back of the tipped couch nearby.

"This just in," a reporter's distorted voice breathed into the room. "The police have a suspect as to who's behind these recent terror attacks. Sources say they are planning to apprehend him shortly. No names have been released just yet, but it appears that in the wake of the targeting of Chat Noir's absol the police were able to narrow down a likely suspect. Chat Noir himself is currently recovering alongside Ladybug.

"And of course, the revelation of Chat Noir being none other than teen model Adrien Agreste has taken the city by storm. His agent reports that the scars he obtained defending our great city will not be a problem for his career."

A skip. The video cut to another report, a few days after the previous.

"We're now receiving word that suspect Gabriel Agreste has fled his home. Police say when they entered they found only his son and Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste. This action is certainly incriminatory, though naturally without due process we can't say for certain that Gabriel is the culprit. Still, it calls into question Adrien's role in the whole ordeal."

Another cut.

"Police are still searching for prime suspect Gabriel Agreste. His son has been cooperative but seems unable to provide any information as to his whereabouts."

Cut.

"So, Adrien, with the revelation that your father was behind the attacks that you'd been fighting to stop, people are asking, did you know anything about it?"

The little image of Adrien widened his eyes. "Of course not! I was only trying to do what I thought was right. I didn't even tell my dad I'm Chat. If I had known… well, I like to think I'd have reported him."

"Yes, it would have been a very tough situation for you. I suppose it's good then that you found out with the rest of us."

Adrien chuckled, but even the most uninvested viewer would easily tell it wasn't sincere. "I guess so."

A phone, abandoned on the floor, buzzed. But no one came to answer it.

* * *

 **6 February**

"And remember class, the school tournament starts next week." Ms. Bustier shuffled with her papers, eyeing her students carefully. "Participation is not mandatory, but attendance is. Don't think you can skip school because of it." With a softer voice, she asked, "Is everyone okay being there? If you think it may be difficult, see me after class and we can arrange some alternate assignment." Her question was met with silence. "Alright. Dismissed."

Marinette sighed and leaned down to pick up her bag. Instinctively, her hand went to her phone. Nino turned to her, eyes shining with draining hope. Alya knew the answer to the question he was about to ask. "Any word?"

Marinette shook her head.

Alya hooked her arm around Marinette's shoulder. "He'll turn up. Idiot probably forgot his charger when he left is all."

"It's been almost three months, Alya. He's not calling."

"Come on, Bug. We can't give up on him. You know he wouldn't leave without saying anything. That means it's only a matter of time!"

Alix, in passing, shook her head. "Face it, detective. Adrien's gone." The words shot into Alya's gut like a knife. She grit her teeth.

"No, he's not!" Alya growled. She wouldn't accept it. Alix kept walking, leaving the classroom entirely. Alya huffed and turned to Nino. "You know, right? If only they'd let us in his place. We'd find something. A note, an answer."

Nino sighed. "Maybe, but…"

"No! No buts. Absolutely. He probably… left his phone. Forgot it."

Marinette met eyes with Nino, sharing their quiet acceptance.

Alya caught Juleka's eye, as she passed by. "Jules!" Marinette turned to look at Juleka, who was hugging herself. Alya clutched the strap of her bag too tightly. "You tell them."

"Alya…" Juleka sighed. "I'm sure he's fine, but…"

"Remember what he was talking about before? Going on a journey? Do you think he's exploring Hoenn right now? Or maybe Kanto? Haha, he's probably living it up right now."

"Alya." Juleka hugged Alya tightly. She sank into her friend's embrace. "It's okay."

"No it's not! If he's not back soon, he'll miss the tournament. And you know how he…"

Marinette joined in the hug, followed by Nino.

"I'm not giving up." Alya said. "Never. If he won't come back or let us know what's going on, I'm going to go find him myself."

"What do you plan to do? We don't even know if he's still in Lumiose."

"His room. There's definitely a clue there. I just need to get in."

"Alya, I don't think that's a good idea."

"What other choice do we have?"

No one answered her.

* * *

"Bug, is Ariados ready?"

Marinette's voice sounded over the earpiece in Alya's ear. "Ready and waiting." Alya readjusted her crouch, looking up at the imposing manor in front of them. "Are you sure about this? Breaking into the Agreste estate… it's still considered evidence, Alya."

"And that's stupid! If they haven't found something by now, they're not getting anything from it. Most crime scenes are cleared in days minimum."

"You know this happens. It's an ongoing investigation."

"Well they're doing a poor job! They could at least tell us if Adrien left anything."

"They didn't find anything important when they looked. They told us that."

"I know! But they didn't know him. They don't know what to look for."

"What do you hope to find?"

Alya was quiet for a moment. "Remember when you were designing ways to wear your Mega Stones? Adrien showed us where he kept it."

"That hidden safe?"

"I doubt the police would think to look there. Doubt they even know about it. That's all I'm going to do, okay? In and out."

"Why don't you just tell the police about it?"

"Why haven't you?" Alya countered hotly. Her chest hurt, her eyes stung. She couldn't believe Adrien left them nothing. Even if it took this long to find it, there'd be something there. "I know it's selfish." She said. "But it's for us."

Alya could hear Marinette's soft, steady breathing. "How's Luxio?"

"In position."

"On your mark, then."

Alya sighed. "Alright." She turned to look at Arcanine and clambered onto the back of her pokémon. With one powerful leap, the pair of them hopped the wall surrounding the mansion. She signaled Misdreavus with a hand, and the ghost sunk into the mansion. A few moments later, the door opened and Luxio came out to call Alya inside.

They moved slowly, the electricity Luxio emitted consistently hopefully keeping the cameras out of commission, at least in whatever room they were in. Luckily, Adrien's room didn't have cameras, but the atrium had several and next to climbing in the window, which had its own alarm, there wasn't any way past them.

She crept on her toes through the door, feeling as if she'd walked into a haunted house. A few rogue papers glided along the floor with the wind from the outside air, but otherwise the atrium was too barren, too empty. It was the soft crackle of Luxio's electricity, the sting of ozone, and the echoing sound of footfalls that accompanied her.

She made directly for the alarm system, making sure Misdreavus was interfering with the single camera that could see her before signaling Luxio to stop and let her work her magic. She turned it off with the code she had gotten from Adrien a long time ago. Not that he gave it to her directly, of course. It just wasn't hard to figure out. Adrien's birthday. She scoffed. _Probably Nathalie that set it._ She hit enter and felt a pang of guilt. _No. He did care. Adrien always said so. I can hate him, but for Adrien's sake, I have to at least acknowledge that._

"Bug, system's down."

"On my way."

Alya looked to Luxio, to Misdreavus, and stole up the stairs to Adrien's room. When she closed the door behind her, Marinette was just climbing through the window. Ariados' silk still wrapped around her arm. They met eyes and nodded, silently venturing closer to the spiral staircase that lead to the upper part of the room, with all the bookshelves. Alya stopped halfway there, to pick up a familiar phone. _He did leave it here. He must have forgotten to bring it. Or maybe he just didn't want to talk to any of us._ She tried to unlock it and shook her head. _Dead. Suppose it would be. It's been a few months without charging._

"Fox, you said in and out."

"I know. Hold your horses, Bug. Look. He left his phone."

Marinette bit her lip. "At least we know why he never answered."

"Yeah." Without another word, Alya started up the stairs after Marinette. She reached her friend just as the lock hidden behind Adrien's copy of _Midsummer Night's Dream_ clicked open and Marinette pushed the rest of the books over the false panel aside to open the safe.

Inside was a crisp piece of parchment and three dusty pokéballs. Alya met her friend's eyes and indicated with a tilt of the head that Marinette should be the one to look at the note.

With shaky hands, Marinette took the parchment and unfolded it. "I'm sorry." She read. "But I couldn't risk you guys following me. School is important for you. You have dreams and goals outside pokémon. I couldn't let you give that up because I couldn't stay."

Alya clenched her fists.

"That said, take care of Emma and Kivva for me, please. I'm sure you already know what I'm doing, and you know those two are too young to go chasing after my dad with me. I left Tikki as well, to help with them. Don't worry, though. With Ghenn I still have a fair few strong pokémon. I'm not in danger." Alya reached over to pick up the three pokéballs and dust them off gently. "I don't know where he went, but I'm going to find him. Please don't come after me. You don't have to be heroes anymore."

"That idiot." Alya muttered.

Marinette shook her head. "How're the kids?"

Alya shook her head. "Balls are empty. He let them out before locking these away. But the police never mentioned finding them. Where do you think they could be?"

"I don't know, but they might be our best bet to finding him."

"You agree then?"

"Duh. He's being an imbecile." With a smirk and a small chuckle, she said, "We're in too deep to stop being heroes."

A slow smile crept onto Alya's face. "Got that right."

A small noise drew her attention to the main floor, and Alya slinked down the stairs after confirming with Marinette that she heard it. _It sounded like… probably Kivva. But it's pretty simple to narrow down where they could be. There's only one room in this house that's habitable by Emma for such a long time. I'm sure she hasn't stayed there the entire time, but she always has to go back, so we'll definitely find her there. She can take us to the others, if they're not with her._

Quickly, Alya searched the room, for Kivva or for some other message from Adrien, but she turned up nothing. "Emma's habitat." Alya said with a glance to Marinette.

"I was thinking that too."

They moved together out of the room and into another one, further down the hall. Inside was a little playpen, complete with small trees and grass to romp on. _It's cold, but there's no snow. Weird. This is supposed to have a blanket almost constantly._

"Emma is around that age that amaura can start regulating their own temperature." Marinette said. "Isn't she? Maybe she doesn't need this anymore."

"Maybe." Alya hummed, taking in the sight. A clump of tall grass had been shaped into a sort of den. Alya leaned down to get a better look. Inside, orange and white fur hung on sides and littered the ground. _Kivva's shedding. Or she did. Her fur really came in while they were alone._ Alya reached in and pulled out a clump of moist white fluff. Baby fur, one of the softest things Alya had ever touched, but more importantly, a clue. _She's about at the age where her fifth or sixth tail should be coming in. And based on how much red fur is here, I'd say she spent a long time here. That means her fire gland had to have developed more as well. How she was, she shouldn't have been able to spend too much time in here, and I trust Tikki kept her safe. Probably, after she was strong enough, she moved in here to spend more time with Emma._

"Fox? Any ideas?"

"A few." Alya worried her lip. _The snow isn't working, but it's still cold. I don't hear the AC running so it might be that Emma's here somewhere._

It wasn't hard to find her. All Alya needed to do was follow the cold. In a hidden little nook, behind some toys and foliage, Emma laid peacefully, sleeping. _It is the middle of the night. But where are Tikki and Kivva?_

"One down." Marinette said softly. "The others?"

"Just a moment." Alya reached out and gently shook Emma awake. Bright blue eyes blinked open to look up at her. "Hey, baby."

Emma's eyes lit up when she recognized who was in the room with her. She jumped to her feet and started nuzzling into Alya. "Haha, good to see you too girl. Where are Kivva and Tikki? They still here?"

Emma nodded resolutely and pulled her out of the room, down the hallway, and into another room nearby. _Temperature problems. Even if Kivva can handle the regulation, it's dangerous for them to sleep right next to each other. Smart girls._ In the next room, Kivva was curled up into a tight ball on a soft-looking pokémon bed, with Tikki nearby on some cushions. Emma's cry caused both other pokémon to stir, and soon enough Alya and Marinette had three small pokémon dancing around them.

"Oh, you poor girls." Marinette said, kneeling and hugging Tikki to her chest. "Have you been here all this time? Why didn't any of you come find us?"

Tikki shook her head, nuzzling into Marinette. Alya smiled. "Adrien told them not to, of course." She said. "If they came for us as soon as he left, he wouldn't have had much of a head start, would he?"

"But three months?"

"Three months ahead of us." Alya clicked her tongue. "Where could he have gone?"

Tikki buzzed a little, and pulled away from Marinette to approach Alya. She bounced excitedly, miming talking on the phone with her hands. "Sorry, Tikki." Alya pulled Adrien's phone out of her pocket. "He left it here. We haven't heard from him."

Tikki shook her head furiously and pointed at the phone. Marinette snatched it out of Alya's grasp. "You're saying this will give us a clue as to where he's gone?" She asked. Tikki nodded with a big smile. "Thank you, Tikki!" Marinette hugged her tightly before turning to Alya. "Here. Sorry for taking it. You should hang onto it. You'll get more out of it than I would, even if it's clear. Charge it and let me know what you find, okay?"

"Yeah." Alya took the phone back. "Definitely. And these girls?"

"We'll take them, of course. Emma and Kivva seem to be doing real good with their thermoregulation so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Girl, your house is full as it is. But with my sisters, my place isn't great either. I could probably take one or two, but…"

"Don't worry about it Alya. Just for tonight, I'll take all of them. We can arrange something in the morning." She smiled at the pokémon. "That work for you guys?" The chorus that met the question decided the matter.

Sneaking out was relatively easy. They returned the girls to their pokéballs and stopped by a few rooms on their way out to pick up a few things for them. The house was quiet, empty. It put Alya on edge, but the pair of them made it out the window, rappelled to the ground on Ariados' silk, and made their grand escape.

When she creeped back into her own room, she plugged Adrien's phone directly into her charger. _Little chance of me sleeping right now. May as well get this done as quickly as possible. Don't want to keep Mari or Nino waiting._

It took a few minutes for the phone to start up, but when it did Alya had to sit through it receiving all the calls and texts it had missed since it died. Seeing the messages, from herself, from Marinette, from Nino, from Chloé, from Juleka, and so many others, made her stomach flip. She didn't even read the actual contents, at first, just the names. Names she didn't even recognize, unnamed numbers, her class, even she was a little thrown by just how many messages had accumulated.

 _"Hey, you missed the shoot last weekend, are you okay?"_

 _"I know you're not reading this, but I have to at least put it out there. I know you weren't a part of what happened. And I'm sorry about your dad."_

 _"Buddy where are you? Everyone's saying they can't find you."_

 _"No offence dude but fuck your dad. If you want someone to help you burn all your Gabriel clothes I'd be honored tbh."_

 _"I'm getting seriously worried now man, please answer."_

Alya stopped reading whenever she saw one from her classmates. Nosy as she was, that just wasn't her place. She knew she, at least, often texted him, pretending he was seeing everything she said. Updates on school, on life, on the investigation. Making small talk. Just acting like it hadn't been months since he'd responded. Acting like he'd be in class the very next day.

If the other messages from her friends were like that, she didn't even want to read them. She wasn't sure her heart would handle it. _Like we're speaking at his tombstone._ She pulled her legs to her chest and explored a little, for the sake of her own curiosity. Most of the names in his phone that she didn't know had accompanying pictures, most of which were of such quality and of such attractive people that Alya had to assume they were from work.

She paused and had to do a double-take when she scrolled past an attractive dark-skinned boy smiling with his arm around Adrien's shoulders. _That doesn't make sense. Illusions shouldn't work in photographs._ Only after enlarging the picture did she see the zoroark in the background. _Rocco didn't make up that appearance. He stole it. Or, he took it anyway. It seems like this dude knows about him._

Intrigued, she swiped the screen, minimizing the picture in favor of the contact information. _Joshua Keaton? Hm._ Noticing messages from him, Alya opened the conversation.

JK: Dude please don't do anything rash  
JK: I get that he's your dad but think of yourself  
JK: Think about Rocco  
JK: I got the call from Nathalie. You really went and did it, didn't you?  
JK: I get it, he's your dad. But fighting him isn't going to make you feel better, especially if you go in there without backup  
JK: Where do you even intend on going? I know he didn't tell you his plans  
JK: Not that there's too much question, I guess. Just take care of Rocco for me, will you? And yourself  
JK: I'd guess you're about in Cyllage City by now. Is papa Agreste there? Give him hell for me, if that's what you're doing anyway. He got away with way too much regarding Rocco. Not condoning fighting him though. Cathartic as it may be for me, it's not going to help you  
JK: Still no news. They say that's good news but really it just means you didn't find him. Or you did and he did something to you. I hate to think of what that might be. Flawed as he is it's hard to think he'd purposefully hurt you. But with you being Chat Noir, I'm starting to believe he might. Be safe  
JK: You know, I'm still mad at you. I can't believe we never danced together. Even if you don't tell me you're Chat, you could've given me a dance  
JK: Though admittedly I figured it out after Ghenn. Rocco's the only zoroark I know like that  
JK: So it's been a month and no word. You travelling the world or something? Remember we promised to see Fortree together. If you go without me I'm gonna be pissed  
JK: Is it weird that I'm keeping track of how long it's been? I don't normally do that, and it's not like we see each other super often. Just the occasional shoot. Still. Miss you  
JK: Two months. What's being a travelling trainer like? Thought about talking to your class. Saw Juleka on the street one day, but I don't think she saw me. Honestly, I'm not sure what I would say to any of them if I did approach  
JK: Thinking about you  
JK: It's strange, you know. I'd think that after two and a half months I'd get used to knowing, or thinking, you're out of the city. I'm not. Had to catch myself from asking after you in today's shoot. They brought in Brandon instead. We all know you're cuter  
JK: Almost three months. I officially have no clue where you are. You can't be staying at that old place for so long, especially since you're on a mission. If Gabriel didn't go back home, I'm not sure where he'd go. The stories you told me about that old shed, haha. I still imagine your dad like a vampire sealed away in there. But I guess he's long gone now. Just like you

Alya closed her eyes and sighed. _It's not even just us. He's got good friends even outside school. How could he have just left like that?_ She shook her head, trying to collect herself. _Maybe I shouldn't be reading these. But I did learn something. Aside from the obvious that this guy is where Rocco's human illusion came from. Wonder what kind of history is there?_

 _Whatever. More importantly, he seems pretty confident that Adrien and his dad went to Cyllage City first. It's been a long time, and the trail might've gone cold, or maybe he's just wrong, but it's a lead. What's in Cyllage City, though? Why there? It sounds like Adrien used to live there at some point. Maybe one of the others know for sure. I'll bring it up tomorrow. For now, let's check the notes. I kind of doubt Tikki was referring to a guy's texts when she told us to look at this thing._

She navigated through the phone until she found something interesting. A voice recording. She pressed play and heard Adrien's voice for the first time in three months.

"Mega evolution: I thought it was research, but why would dad care about the mechanics of mega evolution? If it was some amoral scientist or something, that would make sense, but… I just don't know. That's why I need to talk to him. Face him. Ask him directly. Alya, I know you're probably going to listen to this at some point, but please don't come after me. After what's happened, I'm not sure what my dad's capable of. He won't hurt me, at the very least not if he doesn't have to, but you guys… Just stay in school, keep chasing your dreams. We'll meet again soon, after I find out the truth. I just don't want things to escalate. I already told Plagg to do whatever's necessary should it come to it, but I'd really like to end this without fighting. I think… I think that's more likely if it's just me.

"I wish you guys could've met Mom, though. It'll be nice to visit her for once, at least."

The recording ended. Alya sighed. _Where's his mom's grave?_ She almost flinched at the thought. _Two clues. Cyllage City, and Mrs. Agreste. Someone has to know how they're connected. If they even are. If Joshua was totally wrong, I might only have one real lead. Have to keep doubt on that one. If Mrs. Agreste is buried near Cyllage, then… I guess that's where we have to go._

 _Sorry Adrien. It's been three months. Either you need our help to find him, or you just need our help._


	2. A Clue

"That was where he moved when his mom was sick." Nino frowned at Alya's report of the previous night, and the information she'd recovered. "She died there. Also, where he met Plagg."

"So, you know where it is?"

"Not exactly. Never thought to ask. Though…"

"Though, what?"

"Though you said you heard about it from Josh, right? He knew Adrien long before we did. If I remember right, they knew each other at the time. No guarantee he knows the address, of course, but it's possible."

Alya bit her lip and crossed her arms. "He also mentioned a shed."

"That I do know. The shed was kind of a workshop for his dad. Someplace he could get stuff done without family getting under his toes, you know?"

Juleka sighed. "I'll call Josh."

"Nah, I can do it." Nino said. "You still need to get your physical and talk to Rose, right?"

Juleka grunted but conceded. "I still think we're going a bit quick here."

"No such thing." Alya said. "This is about finding Adrien."

Alix snorted. "And getting Gabriel."

"I couldn't give a fuck about Gabriel." Alya hissed out the words. "I just want my friend back."

"Which you're not getting without finding Gabriel. If he was going to give up, he'd be back by now."

Marinette held up her hands. "Alright. Yes, we'll also be supporting Adrien through whatever he's intending on doing. But the main goal is just finding him."

"Well, Spots, when's the big moment?" Alix raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Soon as the others find out you're leaving too, Ms. Bustier won't have a class anymore."

"Juleka's the only one who hasn't gone through the paperwork yet, so… a few days maybe."

Nino furrowed his brow. "Alix. You guys will be fine here?"

"Who do you think we are? Just get our classmate back. We'll hold the fort." Nino bit back a smile. "By the way," Alix said, "who's this Josh guy?"

"Model friend." Nino said. "He and Adrien go way back. Not as close as Jules or me, just because they don't see each other as much, but they've known each other almost since Adrien became a model."

"I see. Hot childhood friend. Lovely."

Juleka giggled. "I should go. Need to be at the nurse in ten minutes."

Nino separated himself from the others to guide her out. "Yeah. I'll walk with you."

She smiled bashfully at him. "Thanks." Quietly, the two left their gathering and headed towards the nurse's office.

"You sure you want to come?" Nino cast her a wary glance once they were alone. "You don't need to, and we could end up in a big fight."

"I know. But it's… It's Adrien."

"But what about Rose?"

"She'll understand."

Nino couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't quite right. Juleka didn't even participate outside of chance when the attacks were going on. That she'd volunteer to go on a journey while so many others in their class stayed behind didn't make sense. _I get that she wants to help Adrien. I get_ why _she wants to help Adrien. But why go herself? I know she trusts that we'd find him if she stayed._

"Nino." He found himself rooted in her gaze. "You know how I found out he's Chat Noir?" He shook his head. Juleka smiled. "I ran into him in the store. Buying eyeshadow."

Despite himself, Nino grinned at the thought. "I can only imagine how he reacted when he saw you."

"He tried to convince me it was for Plagg."

"No way."

Juleka laughed. "I swear. Obviously, I didn't buy it."

"And so he came clean?"

"Pretty much. I was going to leave it alone, but one day he asked me to give an opinion on a performance, and things spiraled from there."

Nino worried his lip. "What does that have to do with needing to go on this?"

Juleka stopped walking, her head turned to the door leading to the nurse's office. "I was the only one who knew." She said. "Just me. Because of that I made one of my best friends. And if we didn't get close, honestly the rest of you probably wouldn't even be my friends right now. And it's one thing to say that you guys can save the city. You can. You could save Adrien yourself, but when it's him, I can't sit out. He brought me in. Without him, I'd… well I'd probably only have Rose."

"You know we all liked you, Jules. Even before you started hanging with Adrien."

"I know. You didn't dislike me. You didn't like me either. I was just a classmate. Some of you barely noticed me." Nino averted his gaze, ashamed that what she said was true. He'd been in her class for a few years and still barely spoke more than a few words to her outside projects before Adrien showed up. "Don't worry. It's okay. But still, Adrien gave me people to call family. And now his is in danger, so I can't sit here and not go make sure he knows his family's right here."

"I understand." Nino gave her a quick hug, just an unspoken way to assure her that he was definitely part of that new family. "Now get in there. Just need to be cleared for adventuring and then we're almost out the gate, yeah?"

She smiled widely at him. "Yeah."

* * *

NL: hey dude its nino took ur # off adriens phone  
JK: Nino! How've you been? You found Adrien?  
NL: no srry  
NL: he left his phone we only just got into his room and found it  
NL: evidence and stuff  
JK: Isn't the estate still on lockdown though?  
NL: never underestimate us dude my friends are nuts  
JK: Lol sounds like. Not that I didn't know  
JK: Running out to fight those megas  
NL: worried 4 me?  
JK: You know I was! How could I not be?  
JK: But seriously, it was really scary. I figured out Adrien while it was still going on and when he'd pull those ridiculous stunts I just  
JK: Yeah  
NL: feel ya dude  
NL: but srry to bother u about this but i think ull wanna help  
JK: With what?  
NL: just some information alya read thu ur messages 2 adri  
JK: Oh Mew that's so embarrassing  
NL: seriously  
JK: Okay, okay, what about them  
JK: I am seriously embarrassed though. Now I'm reading through them again and geez  
NL: focus buddy  
NL: y do u think theyd go back to cyllage first  
JK: It's not obvious? Mrs. Agreste, of course. Plus, if Mr. Agreste really is some sort of terrorist mastermind, he probably has safehouses. Best guess is that old shed is one of them  
NL: ?  
JK: Secret trapdoor. Didn't Adrien tell you that story?  
NL: right u think theres more there tho  
JK: Depends how long he was planning all this, but yeah. Nothing like those devices from the attacks comes without preparation, and even if it doesn't have anything to do with it, it's a secure location.  
NL: in the old family home  
JK: In the old hidden basement. Difference.  
NL: do u kno where it is  
JK: Like, the address? No, he hasn't been there in a while, I doubt I have any notes.  
NL: dang nothin  
JK: Well, I couldn't tell you the address but I could definitely show you where it is if we were like, there  
JK: Used to live in Cyllage. That's where we worked together the most. Always went over to their place before and after shoots  
NL: :(  
JK: You're going after him, right?  
NL: yea  
JK: I want in  
NL: no offence but like is that even possible 4 u  
JK: Yeah, of course. I'm nowhere near as popular as Adrien, so I'm not as busy in the first place. And anyway I'm already licensed to travel.  
NL: y do u want 2 u kno wed bring him back  
JK: Sure, but he's my friend too. And I know my way around Cyllage. That's your first stop, right?  
NL: yea i guess  
JK: Then bringing me is your best chance to start closing the three month lead he has on us  
NL: …ill talk to alya  
JK: Nice! See you soon :3

"No, Ma'am. That's all. You're cleared to go. Just show that slip to the bureau and if everything else is in order you should get your license."

Nino looked up to where Juleka was being led back into the lobby by a young woman. "Thank you." Juleka said.

"Of course. And good luck on your journey. Remember the most important thing is to have fun!"

Juleka smiled back at the woman until they were left alone. The passing glance between her and Nino showed him they were thinking the same thing. _Fun isn't even almost the most important thing at stake here._

"How'd it go with Josh?" Juleka asked.

"He wants to come, too."

Juleka crossed her arms and frowned. "I thought we agreed that we wouldn't bring too many people. We're already pushing a crowd."

Nino sighed. "I know. But he knows where we need to go, at least at first. I think bringing him would be a good call."

"When Chloé finds out…"

"Don't remind me. With how difficult it was to get her to agree to stay here in the first place, if she hears Josh is coming she'll throw a fit."

Juleka hummed. "Either way, too big a crowd will be too obvious. Gabriel would see us coming a mile away. Might anyway. At least with Josh it's not another of our class."

"That's true. But we don't know how big his operation is. Alya's mentioned it before. How would a fashion designer know how to make a device like that? The idea of him working alone is hard to wrap my head around. In that sense, having more backup can only be a good thing."

"Backup who hasn't been through the things we have. He's a hobbyist battler at best, and his team is not the strongest."

"But they're not exactly pushovers. And we all hadn't gone through those things until they happened. I don't see why a first street fight is any worse searching for Gabriel than protecting the city from megas."

"You want to put him through that at all?"

"Of course not. But it's not the same situation. Even if this is a whole organization, we're not going to be fighting only megas. Even with this, it's safer than what we were doing. Besides, a few months out and we're doing okay, aren't we?"

Juleka worried her lip, clearly unimpressed with his reasoning. "We're doing better. And we don't know how Adrien's doing."

Nino sighed. "Let's just go get you licensed. We'll go over it later with Alya."

Without another word, the two meandered down the street to finish their preparations. It wasn't until two days later, though, that Alya officially called the briefing.

Gathered all together in Marinette's room, Alya, Juleka, Marinette, Joshua, Chloé, and Nino eyed each other.

"Josh! What on earth are you doing here?" Chloé growled. Nino wasn't sure he wanted to know what was behind the distaste in her expression. _He's not exactly a plebian, so the normal excuse doesn't apply._

"Ah, Chlo. Sunny as ever, I see. I'm here because I want to find my friend. Same as you."

"How did you even hear about this?"

Alya cut in with a sharp cough. "I asked Nino to contact him. While I was looking through Adrien's phone, I saw that Josh has an idea of where Gabriel may have gone. Since it's supported by the message Adrien left, I thought it would be a good idea to bring him into the fold." Alya stared down Chloé, cutting off the hiss before it started. "To expedite matters."

"And what could _he_ possibly help with?"

Josh chuckled. "I'm their personal tour guide of Cyllage City, of course." The way he bowed dramatically reminded Nino just a little too much of Adrien. "No one else here has gone out that way, so I'm going to make sure we don't waste time getting lost."

Chloé snorted and turned up her nose, leaving Alya to shake her head with a sigh. "Anyway." Alya said. "The point of this meeting is to make sure everyone is prepared. One way or another, it's almost definitely not going to be an easy journey. Given that so much time has passed, we have to assume the worst with regards to Adrien."

"Not the worst." Marinette said. "Even with everything, I don't think Gabriel would do more than capture Adrien."

"Right." Alya nodded. "So we need to be prepared for a jailbreak if it comes to it."

Josh raised his hand. "But we don't know what that facility would even look like, or whether there will be more people – like guards. How can we prepare for something we can't predict?"

"Again, we'd have to assume the worst." Alya closed her eyes and tapped her foot. "Given what we know of the devices used in the attacks here, the police don't think Gabriel was acting alone. We don't have any reason to think he'd have access to that kind of information, much less understand it. So that's a partner at best, a whole organization at worst."

"But what's the motive? Why attack at all?"

"After finding Adrien, that's what we're going to try to find out."

Nino had to speak up there. "Woah, Alya, are you sure that's a good idea? Getting Adrien back is one thing, but to go out of our way to confront these people…"

"If nothing else, we deserve an explanation."

"That's just selfish."

"I know!" The fire in Alya's eyes took Nino by surprise. Instinctively, he backed down. "It's not okay, what they did. We were the ones who fought. We were the ones who cleaned up their mess. I don't care if it's selfish or vengeance or whatever. I'm going to make them tell me why."

Nino looked to the others. Juleka was passive and quiet and her countenance seemed carefully controlled. He couldn't read her at all. Marinette seemed sympathetic but torn. _She's definitely not enthusiastic about unnecessary danger, but it's not like Alya's wrong. We all want to know._ Chloé looked somewhat approving, like Alya had actually managed to impress her.

"Sounds fine to me." Josh said. Nino raised an eyebrow, watching the easy smile on Josh's lips. "I'll support you guys all the way."

"Good." Alya said. "And Chloé, while we're getting Adrien bac-"

"I'll be here making sure the city stays safe, I know. We haven't been attacked since the showcase. I get the scrub job."

"I know, Chloé, it's frustrating, but-"

"We don't know how Gabriel and his accomplices will act when they realize we're going after them, yes, we're all aware. This isn't the first time we've talked about this. Don't worry. I'll do my job. Just make sure you do yours."

With a resolute nod, Alya said, "We will."

"Josh." Everyone's gaze turned to Marinette at her word. "Are you sure about this? If we have to fight, it won't be like the battles you know."

"I'm aware. But believe it or not I'm not totally uninvested in this. Beyond Adrien, I mean."

"Oh?"

Josh pulled a pokéball out of his pocket and showed it off with an unenthusiastic smile. "In hindsight, I almost wonder if Gabriel chose us on purpose."

"You're the trainer of one of the megas."

"Mhmm."

"Which one?"

"Manectric."

Marinette rubbed her arm uncomfortably for a moment. "I see."

"I didn't even realize until after. Manectric is a bit aloof, you see. She likes to go off on her own sometimes. But since she always comes back, I wasn't worried." He grimaced. "I saw you on the news. Saw her on top of you. Thought you were dead. Thought it was my fault. 'If I'd kept a better eye on her' I thought. Or, 'I should've been more careful, we know they're targeting pokémon that can mega evolve'. And seeing you fighting her… well think back to Adrien at the showcase. But I wasn't there to do anything about it. Couldn't even get a hold of Manectric until well after it was all over."

"Josh, that wasn't your fault."

"I know. I don't blame myself. Not really. But I just… Fact is if I had been more attentive there's a chance we could've avoided it. I couldn't live with myself if my inaction led to someone getting hurt again. And I really do care a lot about Adrien, so… I thought this would be my chance. I want to know why this happened just as much as you do. I want revenge too, even though I know it's not my place. Gabriel hurt Manectric, just like he hurt you guys." He chuckled weakly, shaking his head at everyone's expressions. "No, don't look at me like that. I don't need pity or sorrow or anything like that. I just want you to know I'm as committed to this as you are."

"Okay." Marinette said. "I believe you."

"So," Alya said. "Do we all know the plan?"

Joshua nodded. "Of course. We'll start at Mrs. Agreste's grave and go from there to the old family home. Only question there is do the Agrestes still own the place or will we be dealing with another family living there?"

"Bright side," Marinette said, "If it is one of Gabriel's hideouts, it's super unlikely that he'd sell the place."

"True. Technically we'll be breaking and entering, so I at least won't feel so guilty if it's the Agrestes' place."

"I wouldn't worry about it." Nino said. "Like Mari said, there's no way the guy would sell the place. It's where his wife died, and it's not like he can't afford to keep it."

Joshua nodded. "And we'll follow the clues from there. Wherever they lead."

"Pretty simple plan, all things considered."

Alya groaned. "I know, but we just don't have enough information. I've been poring over the police reports. The devices are way too complicated for me to even begin to understand, and we're still not even sure how Gabriel delivered the things. Assuming it was him at all."

"Mew, I wish Mom were here." Joshua sighed deeply. "She'd give us something more to stand on in that regard."

Alya furrowed her brow, leaning forward in curiosity. "Would she?"

"She's a scientist. Studied pokémon evolution for years, and form changes for even longer. If anyone could figure out those devices, it's her."

"And you can't contact her?"

"No. She walked out a long time ago. I don't even have her number or anything."

"I see. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"Do you have any idea, though? You must have picked up something that'll help understand these."

Joshua shook his head. "Only reports. I don't understand the mechanics at all. I know there's record of something similar happening in Johto. A magikarp was forced to evolve and it rampaged for weeks until someone managed to subdue it. But that was just regular evolution. We know more about that, even the forced kind. I guess it's possible the devices mimic the Mega Stones somehow, but I couldn't begin to guess what that actually means."

"Do you have any idea who'd be capable of making something like that?"

"No. No one the police haven't already looked into."

"Of course. So we're back to hoping."

"Unfortunately. I'm just kind of praying we'll find enough to go on from Cyllage."

"We all are, dude."

After a brief moment of silence, Chloé's brash voice spurred everyone to movement. "Then what on earth are you waiting for? Go bring my Adri back to me!"

"Okay, okay!" Alya laughed. "Take care of Emma. Adrien would be sad if something happened to her."

"It's not Emma he needs to worry about. Honestly, whoever decided you should take care of Kivva…"

Alya shook her head. "Later!"

* * *

When Nino imagined leaving Lumiose to travel Kalos, he had imagined a very different experience. He thought he'd set out with Adrien maybe, or with one or two other friends. He thought he'd finish school, then travel before joining the work force. He thought he'd travel to exotic locations and film some cool videos he'd post online, that it would be fun and lighthearted, that it would be like an extended vacation.

But it wasn't. He stepped out of the gate with four friends by his side, each with a solemn purpose. He abandoned his studies – fully intending on returning to them, granted, but still. He wasn't travelling to flowery meadows or steaming volcanoes, but to a graveyard where his best friend's mother laid. He wasn't wandering, looking for fun. He was on a quest. A mission that he knew very well might lead him into danger that he hadn't faced in months. That he had dared hope was over.

Joshua's hand hitting his back made him stumble a little. "It'll be fine, dude." Joshua said. "We'll find him. Then we can go on a real journey, yeah?"

Despite himself Nino smiled. _I really hope that's true._

A long, long trek later, the group finally saw light at the end of the tunnel. They had gone through Camphrier Town with little more than a pause to restock on supplies. They'd marched tirelessly down Route 7 and through Connecting Cave and finally they laid eyes on Cyllage City.

The graveyard was small, isolated on a tall cliff a bit removed from the city proper. Nino was out of breath from the hike. He saw Joshua kneel on the ground and clasp his hands together.

"Look at the gravestone." Alya said, pointing to it. "Someone's been taking care of it." Nino looked closer. It was perfectly clean, save for a few stray leaves that had collected at the base.

"Not Adrien, though." Juleka said. "It's been too long. He wouldn't still be here. Nor would his father, if this is just a safehouse."

"You're right, of course." Alya said. "But someone is here. That's a clue at least. Any guesses?"

Nino hummed. "Nathalie." He almost grimaced at the neutrality of his voice. Despite how much he'd heard of her, Nino had never met Mrs. Agreste. He didn't grieve or mourn, though he knew he should. It felt disrespectful to visit a grave for a clue and nothing else. But he remained impassive regardless. Cold, like Gabriel at his worst. Nino hated thinking like that.

"Just what I was thinking."

Joshua unclasped his hands and stood. "Sorry." He said. "She was… a really good person. I had to pay my respects while I was here." _We all probably should. But what's the point? Praying to some god to help the dead. She's gone. Sitting here thinking for a few minutes makes no difference to her._

"Of course, Josh." Marinette said. "As long as you need." _No, that's mean. He knew her. He's probably religious, too. If it brings him comfort, I suppose._

"I'm done. We can head down now, if you guys are ready."

"Sure." Alya said. "Let's find that house."

Joshua led the way, winding down the hill and through the paths with ease and familiarity. Unsurprisingly to Nino, the house was also on the outskirts of town. It was a towering, grand structure. Much more modest than a mansion, certainly, but clearly showing off wealth.

What stood out most, though, was the shattered window. "The glass in on the inside." Alya pointed out. "Someone broke in, not out."

"Burglars?" Juleka suggested, glancing inside along with the rest of them. The window led to a dusty room. All the furniture was covered in white sheets, yellowed from age and dust. The four-poster bed against the wall had the curtains surrounding it drawn back haphazardly, as if simply thrown. And the sheet covering the mattress proper was pulled away, hanging onto the floor.

"Probably." Alya said. "But still the chance it was Adrien." She began climbing through the window. "Nino, double check you have me on speed dial, then take Josh and look for the secret room in the shed. Jules, Mari, you and me are going to check the house. If Adrien did go in here, he might have left some evidence."

"Roger that." Joshua said, backing up from the window and turning to the shed. "Nino?"

"Right behind you, bro." As per his instructions, Nino double-checked his phone to make sure Alya was only a button press away. Satisfied, he followed Josh to the "shed".

 _Like heck is that a shed. It's just another, slightly smaller house next to the big house._ "Locked. Figures." Joshua knelt so he was even with the lock and in a brief flash of pink, his dark denim jacket vanished. _Ditto?_ An odd tendril of pink something was wrapped around Joshua's arm, feeding itself into the lock. "Got it?" A quiet cry responded to his question, and Joshua turned his hand. The lock clicked open. "Thanks, buddy." In another flash, Joshua had his jacket on again.

"I didn't know ditto could turn into inanimate objects."

A friendly glance. "Oh, yeah. They can turn into pretty much anything. Mine is actually a lot better at things like this than actually transforming into other pokémon." He turned the door handle unceremoniously. "Thought the Agrestes would have better security."

"If it's a secret hideout, the real security would be inside, wouldn't it? Can't have it too obvious."

"That's true. Come on. Adrien said the secret trapdoor was in the study."

"Was it a button on the desk?"

"Inside the desk, I think. Don't remember what drawer though, we'll just have to check them all."

"Right." Like the house proper, the shed had all the furniture covered in dull sheets to protect it from dust. Nino figured that if anything like that had been misplaced, even this long out he'd probably be able to tell the difference from the dust cover. Something small, sure, but if one of those sheets had been moved he'd have a hard time missing it.

 _This place is creepy. It's too quiet._ He jumped at a bump. "Did you hear that?"

"It's just the place, Nino. Don't let it get to you. Look. Clearly this place isn't frequented, so most likely we're in the clear. Study's right here." Joshua opened the door for him and Nino cautiously stepped inside.

Like everything else, the desk was covered in a white sheet, but this one had been disturbed. Dust collected in an unnatural pattern, it wasn't so meticulously spread but rather thrown as if in a hurry. Nino lifted one side to expose the fine woodwork underneath. "Can ditto do that trick again?" He asked, eyeing the locks on the drawers.

"Yeah. But first we should…" Joshua started grabbing drawers and pulling them. Most were locked, as expected, but one, the bottommost right drawer, slid open.

"Is that the right one?"

"Let's find out." Joshua reached in and shoved the seemingly random assortment of office supplies aside to reach the very back of the drawer. "Yeah. That's it." He pressed something, and the bottom popped up, spilling the contents of the drawer to the very back.

"Why would he leave it unlocked?"

"Most likely, it was Adrien. Either he left it, or he made Gabriel leave in too much of a hurry. Either way, since it is the only one, I think Gabriel was the one that unlocked it in the first place. Adrien can't remember that much better than I do, and he said he was in the doorway, so he wouldn't have seen the exact drawer, anyway."

Nino took a deep breath. His chest felt tight. He wasn't sure if it was apprehension or excitement. "Let's press it."

"Sure thing." Joshua pressed the revealed button. And nothing happened. Joshua frowned. "Hold on." He closed the false bottom and pushed the drawer shut. When it clicked into place, Nino lurched forward as the ground beneath him began to descend. "Woah. Alright there?"

"Yeah." Nino took Joshua's arm until he was certain they were both balanced. "Fine. How deep do you think this… goes…" Nino's words died in his throat when he saw the dresses.

 _There's an army of them._ He shared a look with Joshua. _So many mannequins. What was he doing down here?_ They were of all colors, though plain black seemed to dominate the closer ones, and they stretched off in rows beyond where Nino could see. The dim light, coming only from lights inlaid in the floor around a worktable, was not doing much to help ease Nino's nerves. _How big is this room, even? Is there a light switch somewhere?_

"Nino…" Nino turned, catching sight of the beautiful, sleek, extravagant white dress next to the nearby desk, the desk itself a much more minimalist and utilitarian design than the one upstairs, especially when juxtaposed against the dress. "Is that what I think it is?"

"It's her wedding dress." Nino confirmed. He'd seen pictures of Adrien's mother, of course. One happened to have been taken during the marriage, so he could recognize the dress.

"Why is it down here?"

"Better question is what are those other dresses?"

Joshua bit his lip, stepping towards the desk and the myriad papers scattered on it. He clicked on a lamp and picked up a sheet of paper with a simple sketch on it. "I've seen this before. These dresses… I think they're prototypes."

"Of what?"

"Mrs. Agreste's funeral gown."

Nino looked back out to the mannequins lined up like a legion of soldiers. "There's so many."

"Let's find a light swi- did you hear that?" Joshua furrowed his brow. Nino strained his ears, listening for a sound.

"Hear what?"

"I thought I heard…" He shook his head. "Probably nothing. I don't really like the dark, so my mind is playing tricks on me."

"I feel you, bro. Let's get some lights on."

"Over here, there's a wall. It must be nearby, right?" Joshua stepped over to the wall. "Ah! That must be it."

From the corner of his eye, Nino saw a flash of light. He jumped practically out of his skin. "What was that?"

Joshua paused before hitting the button. "Hm? What is it?"

"I saw something. A reflection, or…" He tried to move around to get the same angle, but the spot far down between the dark dresses remained black.

"Well we'll see. Over there, ri- ow!" Nino only saw Joshua holding his hand protectively to his chest. "What the hell?"

"What is it?"

"I think something bit me."

"You got to be joking right now."

"Uh…" Joshua hesitantly reached once more for the light switch, but before he could touch it, teeth materialized from nowhere and chomped down on his fingers. "What the…"

The gleaming smile lingered for a moment before dissolving away, melting and dropping with gravity like water and vanishing before it hit the ground. "Josh…" Nino felt his throat tighten.

"Um… You saw that too, right?" Joshua's voice was just slightly too high-pitched.

"Yeah…"

Joshua took a deep breath. "If we both make a break for the switch, one of us will probably be able to hit it."

"You sure?"

Joshua smiled, easygoing and familiar. Nino recognized it from Rocco and for a moment forgot that he was the original, not the illusion. "Totally. We need light. We're sitting ducks if we don't."

"Alright then."

"One."

"Two."

"Three!" On three, both boys reached for the light switch. The razor teeth closed once more around Joshua's hand, this time earning an expletive, but Nino managed to touch the wall before whatever was trying to stop them could react.

The entire room burst into pure white. An unholy shriek directly into Nino's ear forced him to cover his ears as tightly as he could. He tried to get a glimpse of what was happening, but all he saw was Joshua hunched over with his hands over his ears, just like Nino was.

 _Pop! Pop!_ Small explosions accompanied shattering glass and the room was once again plunged into darkness, but this one was total. Not even the floor lights that guided them earlier survived the screech. Underground, battered by shards of glass, and blinded, Nino reached out tentatively for the last place he'd seen Joshua.

"Fuck!" Joshua exclaimed when Nino felt another person. His shoulder, Nino thought.

"Sorry. Just me."

"Say something next time, geez." Nino felt a hand close over his and he intertwined their fingers. "Did you see it?"

"No."

"Me neither, but I don't know of any pokémon like that."

"Reminds me a little of sableye. The teeth."

"Yeah, but sableye can't dissolve like that."

They both stood still as stone for a while, until Nino dared speak again. Even then, it was a whisper. "It doesn't seem aggressive when the light's off."

"No. But we can't find what we need without light."

"So, what do we do?"

"Do any of your pokémon know Flash?"

"No."

"Then call out someone to protect Meowstic."

Nino ran his hand over his belt. _Noivern. Not enough space here. Maractus. Politoed. She'll work._ He let Politoed out of her pokéball and waited for Joshua to do the same with Meowstic.

"Is everyone ready?" Joshua asked.

"Yeah."

"Hit it, buddy."

Meowstic emitted a faint light from his ears that got brighter slowly until Nino had almost the same visibility as he had when he first came into the basement.

"I don't see it."

Nino felt his hand squeezed by Joshua's. "Should we call Alya?"

"I don't know." Joshua led the way, Meowstic clinging to his leg, back to the worktable.

Nino reached for his phone regardless, but never managed to reach it. Something swept his feet from under him, flipping him on his back. Knocked breathless from the impact, Nino responded slowly, and didn't have time to really see what had barreled through him to attack Meowstic.


	3. H-1

Joshua only managed to see the creature though what was effectively strobe lights, as it wrestled with Meowstic on the linoleum, but what he saw he couldn't explain.

Their first guess was right, in a way. The creature, the pokémon, did resemble sableye. It had the smile, the teeth, the gems inlaid in its body. But it also had a thick tail with a broad fin on the end. A powerful tail made for swimming. It had beady, dark, moist eyes, not the gems most sableye had. It was more of a sickly, ghostly blue but it was mottled with patches of deep purple that tricked Joshua's eyes and gave it an amorphous, ambiguous shape. He couldn't actually tell if the creature was entirely there, or if it was just a kind of projection.

Its body seemed unbalanced. It stumbled over the tail too large and too out of place on its body. It grappled awkwardly, flailing blindly at Meowstic. The unsettling beady eyes were squinted, and the smile turned to a grimace. _Probably because of the light._

It was strange, terrifying. Joshua closed his eyes. _Mew, give me strength. What do I do, faced with this? Is it my place to judge this creature, or is it truly the abomination it seems at first glance? Please, guide my hand._

"Politoed!"

Nino jumping into the battle spurred Joshua into action as well. There was no time for prayer. No time for counsel. He was on a mission, and his pokémon was in danger. At the moment, that was what mattered.

Politoed tackled the creature off of Meowstic and wrapped it tightly with her tongue. But it proved ineffective when the creature dissolved once more, melting through Politoed's grip. Quite literally. _Only one pokémon I know that can actually turn its body to water, and it definitely does not look like that._

 _But… it does have a tail like that. And the eyes…_ "Mew." Joshua cursed. "How?"

"What is it?" Nino asked, his eyes not leaving the scuffle. Politoed may as well have been trying to catch smoke, but she did manage to keep the creature occupied.

"I think someone made this creature."

"Sorry?"

"In a lab. Crossed species. Fused, or hybridized. I don't know, but look. Sableye and vaporeon. In one creature."

"Holy shit."

Gritting his teeth, Joshua reached for another pokéball. "Gallade! Dazzling Gleam!" Obediently, his pokemon shone beautifully, and the creature paused to flinch. "Poison Jab." Without giving the creature time to recover, Gallade closed the distance and landed a hit, sending the creature flying into a few nearby mannequins. Rattling mannequins gave the creature cover to escape, and Joshua could no longer see it.

"I'm calling Alya." Nino said.

"Good idea." Still with Nino's hand in his, Joshua watched the darkness carefully searching for a sign of the creature.

The screech put that plan to a halt as quickly as it had started. Nino let go of his hand to cover his ears, so Joshua did the same. Meowstic likewise was forced to fold his ears once more, shutting off their only source of light once again.

"How do we fight this thing?"

Joshua racked his brain for some sort of answer, but nothing came to him. This situation was entirely foreign. He'd battled before, of course, but only fair fights. Battling a creature totally unknown to him, in a design studio, blind, and with no regard for injury was just too far removed from anything he ever expected.

"Hold on. I've got an idea. Can you use Flash again? But all out this time. Make it bright."

"Meowstic can do that, but what-"

"Trust me."

It was hard. Nino's voice was somehow not his own. Separated from him in both sight and touch, Joshua couldn't see how Nino could have any confidence in the situation. Personally, he felt immensely lonely. The darkness was too isolating. _I must have faith. Mew, help us._ "Meowstic."

Joshua screwed his eyes shut to protect them and still the light hurt his eyes. "Politoed, Ice Punch!"

Joshua heard a cry and opened his eyes. Politoed hopped energetically around the creature, cheering at her victory. She had frozen the creature's feet to the ground. "Something Adrien told me once." Nino said. "If it's too cold, Acid Armor won't work. It can't liquefy."

"Oh. Smart."

"But what are we going to do with it?"

Joshua worried his lip. "I don't know." Now that he could see it clearly in the light, he began to feel sorry for it. It mewled pitifully and scratched at the ice around its feet. "I don't think we can just leave it."

Nino grunted. "Cover your ears."

"Hmm?"

"Maractus." He called another pokémon out. "Grass Whistle."

The creature struggled harder for a moment but weakened as it tired. When it was asleep, and Joshua saw that Maractus has stopped playing, he removed his hands from his ears. "What do we do?" He asked.

"Catch it." Nino said. "For now, at least. Got spare pokéballs?"

"Um, yeah. Just here." Joshua reached into his bag to retrieve one of the pokéballs and slowly approached the slumbering pokémon. "I'm sorry little one." He murmured, reaching out to touch it. "This isn't your fault. We'll figure out how to help you."

Its skin was covered in thick, though short, coarse, fur. _It feels as unpleasant as it looks._ He shook his head and touched the pokéball to the creature.

Joshua watched apprehensively as the pokéball shook in his hand. And then he was face-to-face with the creature.

"Josh!"

The creature reached out and slashed at Joshua, catching him on the cheek. "Ow!" He covered his cheek, feeling the blood begin to well up in his fingers.

Nino pulled him back before the second swipe could make contact. "Shit, dude, you okay?"

"Yeah." He pulled his hand away gingerly examining the blood. "I'm pretty sure it's just a scratch." He looked to the creature, which was once again assaulting Meowstic, trying to shut off the light. "Gallade!" At his call, his pokémon came to Meowstic's defense, kicking the creature away swiftly. "Looks like we'll have to work a little harder than that to catch it."

One last time, Nino reached for his phone, and this time managed to hit the button to call Alya.

"Leaf Blade! Keep it off Meowstic!" Gallade surged forward, fighting skillfully with his blades, dueling the creature to a standstill and overpowering it from there. _It's sort of part vaporeon, so maybe grass type is effective against it. Nothing else really works._

After a few successful hits, Joshua was satisfied that his theory was accurate. That, or the creature really wasn't altogether that strong, just tricky. Gallade juggled the poor thing with successive hits and then smashed it into the rows of mannequins, sending even more of them flying.

And just like the previous time, the creature vanished in the noise of the mannequins. Politoed and Gallade took places on either side of Meowstic, each holding up a Protect for the impending attack.

They held. Joshua held his breath. But nothing happened.

After a minute or two, Nino asked, "Did it retreat?"

"Where could it have gone?" Joshua stepped forward, into the long lines of mannequins and the funeral gowns adorning them. He jumped over one or two until he was in the still-standing part of the army. His pokémon, Politoed, and Nino followed behind. "We need to stay on guard. But we still can't leave. We haven't found what we're looking for."

"But what even are we looking for?"

"Something out of place. The wedding dress, the funeral gowns. All those make sense assuming Gabriel rarely came back here after Mrs. Agreste died. That creature, pokémon, whatever it is. That doesn't. Unless we find something more, that _is_ our clue."

"So you're thinking like, evidence of how that thing got in here?"

"That would be a very good thing to have. Even better, clues as to where it came from."

"And you think that would be down here?"

"I don't know. All I've seen so far is fashion stuff. Nothing even remotely close to being able to create something like that."

"What if we don't find anything?"

"Then we'll have to work for it, but we didn't come out completely empty-handed. The kind of resources that would be necessary for research into something like pokémon fusion would be immense. There must be a money trail somewhere. Maybe Alya could find it?"

"What on earth even would be necessary for something like that?"

"I'm not exactly a scientist, but… At first estimation I'd say a lot of time, a lot of pokémon – most of which never came out, and the machinery would probably, at least at first, not be portable, so they'd need a base of operations to work out of."

"How long are we talking about?"

"Too long. Unless the person doing this is either extremely gifted or extremely lucky, to get a specimen like this one would probably take years. It's… kind of fucked up, but it does seem mostly healthy. It can survive. Perhaps not in the wild, but it is self-sufficient. I can't imagine it'd get to that point very quickly."

"So you're saying this has been going on a lot longer than the mega stuff."

"Almost definitely. In fact, if it's same person behind this and those devices, I'd assume that the mega evolution thing was nothing more than a stepping stone. An experiment to test a hypothesis that could affect the outcome of this one."

"And if that's not Gabriel…"

"Which it's almost definitely not."

"The chance remains that Gabriel is just being played."

"Yeah. That's not to excuse his actions, though. Only to say that he may not be the mastermind."

"Do you think Adrien thought the same thing?"

"I think Adrien hoped the same thing."

The two approached the far wall, finally reaching the end of the mannequins, and began to follow it, searching for a door or anything that might lead them to another section of the basement.

"Hey, did you noti-" Nino cut himself off when his shoe hit the linoleum not with the standard tap, but a splash.

Meowstic cried out when a quick jab made him recoil. Gallade turned, but was too late, and the creature was already turning back into water. Instead, Gallade aimed his Leaf Blade to the ground, ensuring it couldn't flow away, buying Politoed enough time to Ice Punch the puddle. The creature reformed, shivering, and Gallade caught it with another Leaf Blade, pinning it against the wall.

"Josh, now!" Nino exclaimed. Joshua nodded and tried again with the spare pokéball.

This time, when the creature went into the ball, there was no struggle. In fact, it was so eerily still that Joshua questioned whether it had truly gone into the ball or just vanished again. _Why would it go in so easily now?_

A softly whirring machine called the boys' attention. Joshua indicated to Meowstic to direct the light towards the elevator. "Nino?" Alya called. "Josh? You guys okay?"

"Yeah." Nino answered. "We just got it handled. But you're never going to believe what happened."

"You're safe, though?"

"Yeah! A few scratches, but nothing we shouldn't be able to fix up."

"Good. I'll let Mari and Jules know. Be careful down here. I'm heading back up."

"We will. Thanks Alya."

Joshua and Nino shared a look and continued to follow the wall. "What do we do with this one?" Joshua asked.

"Well we know for sure we should only let it out in the dark. Maybe tonight we'll show it to Alya and the others, see what they think. Until then… we just hold onto it I guess. Unless someone has a better idea. We can't exactly turn it in. We are technically breaking and entering right now."

"Right." Joshua furrowed his brow at the large pile of rubble in the corner. After digging a little, he and Nino determined it hid no secrets.

"But is it just me, or do you feel like we came down here searching for clues and only found more questions?"

Joshua chuckled. "My mom always told me that you'll learn a lot more from a question than you will an answer. We definitely found more questions, but that's not the takeaway here. This one," he indicated the pokéball still in his hand, containing the creature, "connects everything. Based on how it looks, what would you assume it was created from?"

"Sableye and vaporeon."

"Exactly. What's special about those two pokémon?"

"I don't understand."

"Sableye is known to be capable of mega evolution."

"Vaporeon isn't though."

"No, but vaporeon is an evolution of eevee. If you wanted to experiment on fusion, eevee would be an excellent model specimen. Its genetic makeup is all over the place, so it'll more readily accept the fusion than other pokémon would. In theory."

"Oh."

"Vaporeon is the next logical step, if you managed a successful eevee fusion. It's a sort of in-between, even compared to the other evolutions. It's novel ability of transforming to water means that, like eevee, its body much more readily changes than other pokémon's."

"So there's probably more fusions?"

"Probably. The question is, where are they?" They rounded the last corner and approached the desk and worktable once more. "This one had to have been brought here, or else the machinery used to create it has been taken out, but I don't see any place in particular it may have been before all this, and I doubt these dresses have been moved since Mrs. Agreste died, so I think it's more likely that it was brought here."

"Why leave it here, though? There nothing here."

"Two options. First is that you're wrong, and there is something in here that we're not supposed to see." Joshua began rifling through the desk, but all he found were sketches and measurements. "The other is that there wasn't a choice."

"Adrien."

Joshua nodded. "If Gabriel didn't want to see him, he might have fled here in a rush. It's easy to see how this one in particular would be difficult to keep a hold on. It could've just escaped." He hummed quietly, and began pulling out drawers, checking the contents and making sure to keep an eye out for false panels. "Although, Gabriel is no coward, nor is he particularly sloppy. If this one was guarding something, even if Adrien took it, we should see evidence of it being here in the first place. I doubt Gabriel would leave something like that lying out on a desk, especially considering this entire bunker."

 _Nothing. There has to be something._ "But given that there's no trace of any manufacturing of those devices or even any way to create that hybrid, what could be important enough to leave this one here to guard, and risk exposing the existence of the hybrid in the first place? And perhaps more importantly, why wouldn't he take it with him, if it's so important?"

"Are we even sure Gabriel came here, though?"

"Someone did. They left that pokémon."

As Joshua was checking for a false panel in one of the drawers, Meowstic pulled on his leg and let out a gentle cry, pointing to the drawer he was searching. "Hmm? What is it?" Meowstic pointed more insistently. _Under it?_ He bent over, checking the underside of the drawer.

 _Something's scratched into the wood._ "Nino, check this out." _Twelve, eight._ "See it?"

"Are those numbers?"

"Yeah, I think. Good job, Meowstic."

"What do they mean?"

Joshua hummed. _Twelve, eight. It could be a code, but we haven't seen anything that needs one. Maybe coordinates, but based on what?_ He looked around, and it dawned on him. "The dresses."

"Huh?"

"Twelve across, eight down. I'm going to check."

He counted slowly, deliberately. The toppled mannequins complicated things, but it was still relatively easy to keep track. By convention, he started from the closest left corner of the grid as the starting point, but he figured it would be worth checking using the other corners as the focal point if nothing turned up. "Twelve." He began his march into the faceless, mourning army once more. "Eight. Hang on." _Why's it already knocked over? We didn't do this; all the surrounding ones are standing._

 _Maybe…_ He knelt down, examining the tile where the mannequin should have stood. _It looks… there's nothing keeping it down. The glue or whatever between the tiles is missing._ Joshua reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket knife, using the blade to pry the tile up far enough to remove entirely.

"Nino, you should see this. Meowstic, if you would." Meowstic angled the light so that Joshua could see into the hidden pit and retrieve the thick book within.

It was a large, hard-cover tome that seemed much more at home on a desk than in anyone's hands. The wine-colored cover had gold inlay, but no title or author, and the spine was likewise blank of any identification. "A book?" Nino asked.

Joshua opened it and examined the first page. "A ledger, I think. Specifically, for a service. Here. 'Hideaway Massage Parlor'. It has the customer name, when they came, what employee attended them…"

"But why would Gabriel have a ledger for a massage parlor? You think he was really that stressed?"

"No. He wasn't a customer. A customer wouldn't have this. More concerning is why hide it? There doesn't seem to be anything particularly incriminating about it."

"Whatever the reason, if it was down there and guarded by that pokémon, it must be important. We should take it back to the girls."

"Good call. Let's get out of here. I don't think we're getting anything else out of this place."

They picked their way back to the elevator and returned to the surface. Nino texted Alya to let the girls know they were on their way, and then the pair of them went back to the house to reconvene.

"Hold on, Josh." Nino stopped him before they could go into the house where the girls were still exploring. "Let's clean that cut before we go in." He was already rummaging through his bag, looking for supplies, so Joshua waited obediently.

Nino took his face in his hands and examined the cut on his cheek. Now that they were in the sunlight, it wasn't such a difficult task. With his water bottle, Nino rinsed the cut with water before spraying it to keep it from getting infected. After putting a bandage on it, Nino gave the go-ahead to begin the search for the girls.

With the ledger in his bag and the mysterious pokémon in his pocket, Joshua opened the front door (unlocked by the girls after they went in the window). "What happened?" Marinette asked, appearing in a doorway nearby.

"We found something." Joshua said in response. "A couple somethings, actually, but no hard evidence on Adrien. Y'all?"

"Adrien was definitely here. His room was obviously lived in after everything else was covered up. We think he camped out here for a little while."

"Makes sense." Nino said. "This would be a good place to set up shop."

"Mhmm. He left a few notes, just ideas we think, but they're the closest things to leads we have as to where he went from here. What'd you get?"

Alya thundered down the stairs then, calling. "Yeah, what'd you find? It sounded like you two… oh man, you two did get in a fight! You alright, Josh?"

"I'm fine."

Juleka followed behind Alya. "What did that?" She asked.

"It's… hard to explain." Joshua shared a look with Nino. _How do we even try to explain something like this?_ "We think that the one behind the devices triggering mega evolution has other goals than just mega evolution itself."

"Why's that?"

Nino chuckled uneasily. "Because we found the unholy lovechild of a sableye and vaporeon."

"I'm… sorry? What?"

"To be more accurate, I highly doubt it was a lovechild." Joshua said. "More likely it was fused using some kind of machine."

"What? _Fused_?"

"I have it here. You'll see what we mean for yourself." Joshua showed her the pokéball. "But it really doesn't like light, so I don't think we should let it out unless it's dark."

Marinette crossed her arms. "That's fine. We'll deal with that when we can. Anything else?"

"Only this." Joshua slung his bag off his shoulder to pull out the ledger. "Neither of us can figure out what's important about it, but someone went through a lot of effort to hide it, so…"

"Let me see that." Alya snatched it from him, rifling through the pages. "Jules, check it out."

"Hideaway Massage."

"Yeah. Gabriel had emails to and from this place. And I think Adrien wrote it down, too, right Mari?"

Marinette had already pulled out a sheet of paper, on which Joshua saw scribblings of what he thought were locations. Most were crossed out, but Hideaway Massage was one of the lines on the list that remained. "Yeah. It's right here."

"Do you think Adrien found this book?"

Joshua hummed. "I doubt it. You said you got into Gabriel's emails?"

"Yeah. We found his password on Adrien's desk."

"That's probably what spurred his interest in it, then. That book was under a tile in the basement, marked by a carving in the underside of a desk drawer. If he found it, he probably would have taken it."

"Not necessarily." Alya said. "If he took pictures of it, he wouldn't need to, and it would be much easier to carry than this thing. But the matter of that… fusion, you said? That pokémon. If Adrien did go down there, he probably would have run into it."

"It reacted violently to say the least when we tried to turn the lights on. Adrien most likely couldn't have avoided it. But there weren't signs of a battle when we entered."

"Which means Adrien didn't fight it."

"Probably."

Juleka frowned. "Do you think it could have been put there after Adrien left?" She asked.

"There weren't signs of a battle in the basement," Marinette said, "but there was in the library."

Alya snapped her fingers. "That's right. We thought Adrien battled his dad, but what if it was that pokémon instead? And it just found its way to the basement later on? To get away from the light."

"Or," Joshua said, "Adrien was the one that put it there."

"Why would he do that?"

"It hates the light. Adrien knew about the basement. He could have pieced it together that it would be a good place for it. Nino, remember in the corner?"

"The big pile of rocks?"

"We thought it was just rubble, but what if it was food, instead? It wouldn't have had any issue getting out to eat, with its abilities, but still Adrien wouldn't have left it with nothing."

"You're saying it eats rocks?"

"I can't say for sure, but it is at least partly sableye, so it's not out of the question. We'd need a better idea of how its physiology works. Something Adrien definitely wouldn't have understood in the time he stayed here."

Alya hummed, frustrated. "So Adrien could have found the book."

"I can't think of why he wouldn't at least look in the basement, whether he found the book or not."

"That means this Hideaway Massage place is our best lead."

"At the moment, yes."

"Any idea where it is?"

"None. Never heard of the place."

"Alright." Alya sighed. "Let's get to the Pokémon Center. We'll stay there for tonight, and in the meantime I'll try to find this place. Josh, when it gets dark I want you to try connecting with that pokémon you have. We can back you up, but I think all of us might scare it, if I understand everything you've told me about it."

"I can do it on my own. Once I'm sure it's calm, I'll call you guys to meet it."

"Good. Marinette…"

Marinette nodded. "I'll take the pokémon we can spare and train with Juleka."

"And I'll go shopping." Nino said. "Make sure we have enough supplies for the next stretch."

"Alright then." Alya said. "Sounds like we've got a plan."

* * *

Joshua went back and forth on when to call the fusion from its pokéball probably a million times. _It's not good with light. We know that. But even nighttime is brighter than the basement. Would it be okay with starlight, or is it really that sensitive to it?_ He glanced nervously out the window. _I could make it darker inside, but if something goes wrong I don't want to damage the Center property. More people need these rooms than just us. And I need to be able to see it, anyway._

Eventually, Joshua slipped out and, since they stayed at the Pokémon Center right on the edge of town, managed to get away from the lights of the city and under some tree cover. The ambient light was still not exactly pitch darkness, but it was about the best he would manage that night in that area. He could see clearly, and there wasn't any distinct point of light, like a bulb or Meowstic's ears, that could blind anyone who looked too directly at them. It was just ambient, and Joshua hoped that was enough.

 _I need some way of referring to this thing._ He thought, looking at the pokéball. _Sableon? Pfft. Vaporeye? Still stupid. I mean, it is admittedly kind of cool, but in a stupid nerdy way. I'd still feel embarrassed saying it all the time. It's some sort of Hybrid, so maybe just H-1 for now. It's at least something to refer to it as, until we have something better._

The little grove he found himself in was too quiet. Joshua's skin crawled. _Mew, I wish I had asked one of them to come with me. Why did I say I could do this on my own?_

 _Please grant me strength. Guide my hand in helping this pokémon. And wish me luck._

"Alright." He muttered. "I'm going to do it." He took a deep, shaky breath, and released H-1 from the pokéball.

Its beady eyes seemed rounder, more curious, than in the basement. And, thankfully, it didn't seem to be aggressive. "Hey there." He said quietly. "I'm sorry about earlier. The light must have hurt your eyes, right?"

H-1 tilted its head, silent as the grave.

Joshua sat down. "But it's not so bad here, right?"

It stared blankly.

Joshua sighed. "This is pointless. It can't understand me, can it?" He rested his head on a hand. "But you're not running away, so that's good. I think. And you seem calm. I guess I could call the others."

He pulled his phone out, but H-1 backed up at the sight of it, hissing. "Woah. Okay." Joshua put it down on the grass. "Look. It's not going to do anything. No light." _The screen might bother it. I shouldn't call the others until it's used to the phone._ H-1 crawled toward the phone, cautiously examining it. It scratched at it for a moment, and then returned to staring at Joshua.

He chuckled. "Not exactly cowardly, despite everything." Joshua slowly reached for the phone, and when H-1 didn't do anything to stop him, he picked it up. "Still shouldn't turn it on, but that was quick. Good job little one." He reached out cautiously and touched H-1 on the head, once more feeling the rough fur. With no negative reaction, he tried a bit more of a normal approach and ruffled its fur like he would his own pokémon. "Ow." _It's like sandpaper if you go against the grain._ His hand was pink from the abrasions, but H-1 smiled and cooed happily.

It stepped forward and rubbed against him, forcing him to pet it. "Haha. You're not so bad, are you? Just want a little attention like the rest of us." It continued nuzzling into him, and once it buried it's head in his shirt, Joshua got an idea. "Alright, stay like that." He made sure to keep ready to cover its eyes if it did back off, and petted it to keep it encouraged, and unlocked his phone, calling Alya as quickly as he could so the light wouldn't we visible long.

"Yeah?"

"It's calm. Friendly, actually. I think it'd be fine if you guys came to check it out."

"Great. Send me your location and I'll get everyone together. We'll be there ASAP."

"Can do. Just remember not to bring any lights with you. Keep your phone off and all that."

"I know. Be there soon."


	4. Our Secret

They were only on their journey for a few days and already everything was getting much more complicated than Juleka had bargained for. She thought, perhaps naively, that they'd find Adrien, maybe battle with Gabriel, and in the end everything would wind up okay.

Well, not okay. Gabriel would be in jail, Adrien would still probably be upset, she and the others would need to support him but that's not anything outside what they would do anyway. It would end as well as it could. She didn't think something like this pokémon, this fascinating amalgam of a sabelye and vaporeon, was even possible. And yet there it was, nuzzling into Joshua like an excited puppy.

"Well…" Marinette said. "I see what you meant, now."

Juleka did too. She would've been hard pressed to describe this pokémon to someone who'd never seen it, or at least had not encountered another hybrid like it. Something like this only proved that nothing was quite how they imagined. _How far does this go? We still don't even know why Gabriel was causing the megas. And now there's this…_

Joshua at least seemed fond of it, in a weird way. He smiled and petted it. "It really likes attention." He said. _Understandable. It was on its own for probably about three months._ "Come on, give it a pat."

Nino shifted uncomfortably on the balls of his feet, and Alya and Marinette seemed likewise put off by the creature. So, Juleka rose to the occasion. Luckily, she'd always liked things most people found scary. Horror creature it may be, but it was a cool one. "What do we call it?" She asked, kneeling next to Joshua.

Alya leaned over her shoulder. "It's like a… sableon."

"Vaporeye." Marinette offered.

Joshua laughed. "I'm calling it H-1, for now. Hybrid one."

"That's a bit impersonal."

"Honestly, I don't think it can tell the difference." Joshua said. Juleka reached out to touch it and was taken aback by the rough fur. _Doesn't that hurt when it's cuddling like that?_ "At least, it doesn't seem to recognize simple phrases."

"A more basic pokémon, then?" Alya asked. "Neither sableye nor vaporeon are particularly dumb, though."

"No, but the fusion process may have left it… well, let's not assume anything just yet. It's only a temporary name at the moment, anyway. More identification than name, even."

Alya knelt down as well and gave it a gentle pet. "It's so rough."

"Hmm." Joshua worried his lip. "Yeah. I'm obviously not a biologist, but I'd guess something got mixed up with vaporeon's fur and sableye's gemstones. Its fur has been crystallized."

"You know, Josh, I feel like you know more about this kind of thing than you let on."

"Haha, well, my mom wanted me to be a scientist like her. I grew up around this kind of thing. Or, well, not this, obviously, but anatomy and physiology."

"And you ended up as a model?"

"I wouldn't say ended up. I'm still young. Who knows what I'll end up doing, but, yeah. After she took off, I found out modelling was a good way to help Dad support us so…" He shrugged.

"Oh. Sorry."

Joshua laughed. "No worries."

"So," Alya asked. "In your scientific opinion, how does this little guy fit into all this with Gabriel and the megas?"

Joshua frowned at H-1 for a moment before speaking. "In my very unscientific opinion, I doubt we've seen the last of these hybrids. At a guess, and I think I told Nino this, I think the one behind the devices that triggered mega evolution is also behind this. Likewise it's fair to assume at this point that this is far beyond Gabriel's ability alone, but you guys would probably know better than me."

"Gabriel is a fashion designer." Nino said. "And Adrien never mentioned anything even remotely like an interest in this."

Joshua nodded. "And this is just speculation, so please don't put too much stock in it, but I think it's possible that this was the goal all along. The hybrids."

Marinette finally approached and knelt near the small circle. "What do you mean?"

"Mega evolution is a phenomenon that still isn't extremely well understood, from what I've read. But, it is a form change that's called on at will and can be reverted, which makes it unique among evolution. Next to ditto, and ditto is impractical for this kind of study for a variety of reasons, it is probably the easiest access to that kind of form change. Still, Mega Stones and Key Stones are rare. If hybrids were the goal, finding a way to induce mega evolution is not an unreasonable step in the process. It's likely that hybrids are easier to make if one or both pokémon is already in a state of transition. Normal evolution is too unpredictable to get the timing right for something like that, and assuming the specimen survives, it's not repeatable, which just means you need even more specimens for the research. That's both expensive and impractical."

Marinette nodded. "So, the megas in Lumiose… were what? Experiments?"

"Maybe. Not many pokémon are recorded to be capable of mega evolution. Testing on the ones you find would be… economical. Unethical, obviously, but cost-effective."

"It didn't seem like the devices were still in development."

"They might not be. Gabriel was most likely the one actually putting the devices on the pokémon. It could have been already finished and just part of the deal was he got to use them."

"In return for money?"

"Most likely. Assuming that situation in the first place."

"But why make hybrids in the first place?"

Joshua shook his head. "No clue. Recognition? Power? Maybe they're trying to make the strongest pokémon; people have tried that before."

"But the problem," Alya said, "is that we still can't link anything together. We can guess how the mega devices and H-1 are related, but what do either of those have to do with Hideaway Massage? Why did Gabriel have that ledger?"

"I think that's something we'll have to go to Hideaway to find out."

"Speaking of." Marinette said. "What did you find on it?"

"Honestly, not much. The place is basically off the grid. No website, no address, nothing. I'm starting to doubt it's even in Kalos."

"There must be some way to find it." Juleka said. "There are customers."

"I'm thinking it's a real niche place. Kind of an 'invite only' thing, you know?"

"Could there be a clue in Gabriel's emails? Now that we know a little better what to look for?"

"Nothing obvious, girl."

Marinette cut in. "Didn't he talk about some sort of deal in one of them?"

Juleka pulled out her phone to check the pictures she took of the emails. She saw Joshua hold H-1 protectively, covering its eyes. _Oops. Forgot._ "Sorry. But here." She said. "But it's not really helpful. 'Money has been sent. We will meet soon to renegotiate these prices.'"

"Doesn't sound like he was buying a massage." Nino said.

"No." Juleka locked her phone again and put it away, not wanting to cause problems with H-1 by keeping it on. "It doesn't."

"There's no address?"

"No, just his signature."

"What about the ledger itself?"

"What about it?" Alya asked.

"Well, it had names on it, didn't it? If we can find where the customers or employees are, we're that much closer to the Hideaway itself."

"I thought that too." Alya dug the ledger out of her bag and opened it to a page closer to the middle. "A few of the names here later on are circled, so I tried digging into them."

Marinette sighed. "Let me guess. No luck?"

"None."

"Ignore the circled names for now, then. Let's go through the ledger to see if we can find repeat visitors instead. If they go often, they must live nearby. And if we're careful, we may even be able to ask them to get us inside."

"Good idea. Let's get back to the Pokémon Center and get to work. Josh, how's H-1 doing?"

"It should be fine so long as it's in the pokéball. I wish I could let Nurse Joy give it a checkup, but it at least seems fine. I'll keep an eye on it."

"Good. Let's get going. It's going to be a long night."

And a long night it was. Desperate to find a direction by morning, they took turns entering the dates and names in the ledger onto Alya's laptop so they could easily organize the entries by customer. The problem being, of course, it was a very thick book and well over three-fourths full with entries.

"Jules." Juleka awoke groggy and unfocused. Eventually, her eyes focused on the perhaps even more tired eyes of Marinette. "We're almost there. Think you could finish up? I'm about to collapse."

"Sure." She stood and moved into the pale glow of the laptop screen, the white searing her tired eyes. _I know how H-1 feels._ With a small desk light illuminating the ledger, and her sleeping friends around her, Juleka continued where Marinette left off.

 _September 17, Rudolph Hudson, Bertha. September… this is more recent than I had thought. That was when the attacks in Lumiose were going on. Don't know why I figured this thing would be more outdated._

 _Whatever. September 17, Travis Baker, Malinda. September 18, Diana Muldooney, Rex._

 _Something feels weird about this. I feel like there's a pattern I'm not seeing yet. Hmm. September 18, Johnathan Harris, Bertha. September 18, Travis Baker, Kady. Twice in two days, Travis? Someone's busy._

 _September 18, Reese Reaman, Showers. Odd name. Also Reese, I'm so sorry about your name. September 18, Yvonne Smith, Sable. September 18, Robert Muldooney, Showers. Circled this time. And Muldooney… relation to Diana, maybe? Weird that they came the same day but are so far apart on the list. September 18, Peter Newman, Kady. September 19, Travis, really? Ugh, and with Malinda again._

 _Wait… Travis with Malinda and Kady. Peter with Kady. Diana with Rex. Rudolph with Bertha. Johnathan with Bertha. Aside from this "Showers" and maybe "Sable", too, just because I don't know who might have those names, all of the customers and employees are paired by opposite sex. But even then, Showers is on here twice, both with men, and Sable seems to only be paired with women. This is a little too common to be just random._ She looked around to her slumbering friends and caught sight of a paper and pen with a small list of its own. _"Match Male-Female". So, it's not just me, then. One of the others noticed too._

 _On top of that, it looks like most of the customers are men in the first place._ Juleka continued entering the names until she came across another circled employee name. _Sable. But the customer is Diana Muldooney. Showers was first circled on Robert Muldooney's entry, wasn't it? Odd._ She wrote down her observation on the paper as well and continued in her task.

 _December 25, Travis Baker, Malinda. Even on Christmas. Get a life, Travis. December 26, Greggory Duchannes, Noel and Bertha. A few of those doubles. Maybe it's just the specific massage they got? Don't know much about massage._

It was five in the morning when Juleka finally finished entering all the names, a good three hours of work, but it was done. _And now we just… sort._ She clicked the button, and the intense catharsis she felt seeing the rows rearrange themselves into an actual order was priceless. _Thank Arceus. Now, we're looking for patterns. Who's gone the most? Travis, typical. He was there almost every day for like three months, and that's just the bit I did. Of course, he's the most popular customer. How did you even afford that?_

 _I should probably wake up Alya. If we want to get anywhere today, we need to know where we're going. Now that this is done, hopefully it won't take long to find a lead._

She rose, stretching to relieve her muscles from the hours spent hunched over a desk, and gently shook Alya awake.

Alya reached sleepily for her glasses. "How's progress?"

"Finished typing up all the entries. Now we just need to find out where to go."

"Perfect, let me see." Juleka backed up quickly to allow Alya to jump out of the bunk and claim the desk chair. That was fine, of course. Juleka could use a few minutes standing, anyway. "Yeah I noticed that Travis guy was pretty obsessed with the place." Alya said. "Let's see if I can't find him."

Juleka leaned over her shoulder to watch as she searched for Travis on the internet. "Some rich heir." She observed. "Think Chloé knows him?"

"That's… actually a really good point. Text her for me, will you? While I look into some of these other people."

"Uh, sure. You think she'll even respond? It's pretty early."

"Worth at least texting her."

Juleka just shrugged and pulled out her phone.

JC: Hey, we want to ask you something. A follow up from something we found in the Agreste's old place.  
CB: Any other reason and I would strangle you for texting me at five in the freaking morning.  
CB: Well? What is it?  
JC: Do you know someone named Travis Baker?  
CB: What on earth do you want with that loser?  
JC: So you know him?  
CB: Unfortunately. I've had the displeasure of running into him on occasion. His father is very wealthy so we sometimes go to the same galas. He's a creep at the best of times.  
CB: What about him?  
JC: He frequents someplace called "Hideaway Massage Parlor", but we can't figure out where it is. We think Adrien may have gone there after he left here.  
CB: Ew. Anyplace Travis frequents is bad news, trust me.  
JC: Why's that?  
CB: I told you!  
CB: He's a freaking creep!  
CB: He's been flirting with me since I was like eight.  
JC: Wow, that is concerning.  
CB: Shut up, Couffaine. What's creepy is he's almost ten years older than us.  
JC: Yikes.  
CB: Exactly. I hope Adrien had a good reason for going somewhere he'd hang out.  
JC: Now I kind of hate to ask, but do you think you could get the location for us?  
CB: Please. Who do you think I am? I'll have it to you ASAP.

"Alya, Chloé knows Travis. She's going to get the location of the Hideaway from him."

Alya laughed. "That's my girl."

"She also says he's a huge creep and anywhere he hangs out is sure to be bad news."

"Yeah, well, given we're chasing an abusive father who literally carried out terrorist attacks on Lumiose City, and probably also a mad scientist who's experimenting with pokémon fusion, I'd be surprised if this _wasn't_ bad news."

Juleka snickered. "That's fair. Anything else?"

"Nah, girl. I'm trying to follow up on the Muldooneys. Good eye with the circled employees, by the way, but I'm not finding anything. No social media, no professional accounts… Hmm. They could be pseudonyms. We don't know anything about the Hideaway, so we can't say whether pseudonyms would be allowed on the ledger. That's if the Hideaway even knew."

Juleka felt her phone vibrate, and opened Chloé's text. "That was fast."

"Chloé works fast. Can't deny that."

CB: I'm just going to send you the screenshots.  
CB: But you're welcome, and I told you so.  
CB:

CB: Travis. Wake up.  
TB: woah clo wats up  
CB: 1) You are literally 26 years old. Try spelling like an adult for once in your life.  
CB: 2) Where's Hideaway Massage Parlor?  
TB: wherd u her abt tht  
TB: shit what do u want  
TB: who told u  
CB: All of that is my business. The only thing you should worry about is giving me the location. Now.  
TB: wait why do u want to know where it is  
TB: oooh thats hot actually  
TB: tell you what how abt i take you huh  
CB: How about you tell me where it is, or I tell your parents you go there almost every day?  
TB: u woulnt  
TB: ud expose urself to  
CB: Try me. I've obviously never been there. But I have evidence of just how often you go.  
TB: shit  
TB: ur dad wouldn't stand for it  
TB: just admitting interest is enough and ive got the convo to prove that  
CB: I have deniability. Thanks for confirming it's a shady place, by the way.  
TB: fuck u dnt evn kno do u  
TB: uv no idea what the hideaway is  
CB: Not a clue.  
TB: ur lyin  
TB: howd u hear about it  
TB: why do u want to find it  
CB: Again, that's my business. Now are you going to tell me where it is, or do I have to take the matter to your parents?  
CB: Or maybe the press?  
TB: dont! our rep would be ruined!  
CB: Then you should probably get with the telling me what I want to know.  
CB: Five minutes.  
TB: its in shalour!  
TB: plz dont squeal  
TB: theres an alolan malasada shop a few blocks down from the pokemon center closest to the route 12 gate  
TB: if u head behind it and knock with a code on the red door, theyll let u in  
TB: there now u promised to stay quiet  
CB: What's the code?  
TB: it changes every month  
CB: What's. The. Code?  
TB: love!  
TB: its love in tap code  
TB: 3 knocks, then 1, 3, 4, 5, 1, 1, and 5  
CB: Thank you.  
TB: chlo i promise its not what u think  
CB: I thought I made it clear that I don't even know what this place is. All I know is it can ruin you, and that's all I need to know.  
TB: no plz  
TB: look im gonna tell u  
TB: if u promise not to rat me out  
CB: Why on Earth would I promise that?  
TB: shit  
TB: well ur gonna find out eventually if ur goin there  
TB: just please take time before saying anything  
TB: think about it  
CB: I'm listening.  
TB: its not really a massage parlor  
CB: No shit.  
TB: its a  
TB: fuck  
TB: its a brothel  
CB: I knew you were the type to spend your father's fortune on hookers.  
CB: Is that supposed to surprise me?  
TB: no its a pkmn brothel  
TB: like the hookers are pokemon not people  
TB: chlo?  
TB: still there?  
TB: plz don't squeal i wont go anymore just plz dont tell anyone  
TB: please  
TB: i swear the pokmna re into it 2  
TB: i swear u have to at least look right  
TB: just consider it?  
TB: better u hear it from me than walk in there without knowing whats going on right  
TB: so i did u a favor by telling u yeah  
TB: so please dont tell anyone  
TB: pretty plz

CB: It takes a lot to make me speechless but this might just take the cake.  
CB: Serious question, how do I even respond to that pathetic display?  
JC: Holy shit.  
CB: Yeah, that does seem an appropriate response.  
CB: Obviously I'm ratting the place out, but I'll stay quiet as long as you guys need to get a lead on Adrien.  
JC: Hold on, I'll ask Alya about it.

"Alya."

"What'd Chloe get?"

Juleka worried her lip, unsure how to put it into words. "Uh… you know what? Just read it."

She handed the phone to Alya and watched as her expression shifted from amused to disgusted. "What the fuck does Gabriel have to do with this kind of place?" She shook her head. "We should tell the police immediately."

"But…" Juleka felt dirty saying it. She felt like she needed to clean her tongue with bleach. _This is a horrible thing to do._ "If the police get there before we do, we'll hit a dead end."

Alya growled audibly. "We can't let this keep happening. But you're right. The police would cordon off the area, and any evidence of Gabriel or Adrien being there would be gone before we get the chance to look around."

"If there's any evidence."

"So do we leave these pokémon in this situation for a few more days on the chance of finding evidence?"

Juleka curled into herself. The thought itself was disgusting. She knew what the right answer was. Of course she did. "What's the chance the pokémon aren't abused?"

"Asymptotically approaching zero. Girl, you know that shit is illegal."

 _I do know. But I want to find Adrien. And if we tell… we may lose our only solid lead._ Desperately, she searched for an excuse. "Lots of pokémon are intelligent enough to consent. Maybe-"

"In the underground, illegal brothel, the pokémon working there are totally there of their own free will. Yeah. Definitely." The sarcasm dripping from Alya's words seeped into Juleka's heart. "But even still." Alya's voice was softer, quieter. "What other lead do we have? It's only a couple day's journey, right? Just a few days."

 _Rocco would have killed for a few days out of the ring._ She didn't think it consciously, but the knowledge of that statement nagged at her. "Just a few days." She repeated. It was an impossible decision. The pokemon, who are strangers, or one person, their friend, both who need their help. It was almost laughably cliché. A perfect Trolley Problem. And Juleka was frozen solid.

 _Bzzzt._ Juleka's phone, in Alya's hand, buzzed. She and Alya both looked at it.

CB: Find Adrien. Once you get what you need, say the word and I'll have the feds on it faster than you can say "Fuck this place".

"Well, we know where Chloé stands on the issue." Alya said.

Juleka looked at the others, still peacefully asleep. "What do we say to them?"

"We have to tell them. We can't have them walking in there without knowing what to expect."

"But would they tell? Have we decided not to?"

Alya groaned loudly. "I don't know. Maybe we should…"

Juleka had thought often of what she'd do if she found out about a street fighting ring. Knowing Rocco, she couldn't excuse not immediately reporting it. But she'd never even considered this situation. _And it's not so simple as just the abuse. Would I report a ring if it was my only lead to finding my best friend?_

 _I wish Rose were here. Except I don't. Not really. I don't want her to be in this situation. She's too empathetic._

 _But that right there tells me what I want to do, doesn't it? Does this make me a bad person?_

"Until we get to Shalour…" Juleka said quietly.

"Just to be safe." Alya said. "It's our secret."


	5. Grief

All they told Marinette, Nino, and Joshua was that Hideaway Massage was in Shalour City. Just saying they found someone on the ledger that Chloé had contact with was enough to satisfy them. _They don't have any reason to suspect there might be something more, though._ Alya shared a look with Juleka. Neither of them were comfortable with the decision they made, but Alya saw little other option. Their best chance was to get to Shalour City as quickly as they could and find what they needed.

Unfortunately, that wasn't as easy as it sounded.

They'd made it as far as Reflection Cave. The eerie stone pillars lining the road to Geosenge Town still loomed oppressively over Alya, and she knew Juleka was having a hard time as well.

"I read a story once," Joshua had said as they walked that road, "that said all of these pillars are ancient pokémon turned to stone when their life energy was stolen to power a terrifying weapon." The pillars suddenly seemed malevolent to Alya. They seemed to lean in and judge her. "Do you guys think that could be true? What would a weapon like that be used for?"

"War." Marinette said simply. "I've heard that story. It was used to end a terrible war."

Nino hummed. "That's not how I heard it. I heard that it was used to bring a pokémon back to life."

"What would make someone do something like that, though? Even if it brought one pokémon back to life, if it cost the lives of all of these…" Joshua frowned.

"Love." Alya said. "They loved that pokémon. So much that all of these were excusable to them. That's what I heard." _I knew this route would suck. Why'd Josh have to bring up that dumb old story?_

 _It's not the same._

"Hmm." Joshua murmured. "What kind of sacrifices are worth one pokémon?"

"I guess it depends on the pokémon."

"I don't think so. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the one who did that was a bad person, but I do think they went too far. Some things shouldn't be messed with. Death is one of them."

"You think so? Even if it didn't cost so much other life, you don't think they should've brought that pokémon back?"

"There's a place for mourning. There's a place for denial. But those are personal. Once someone's gone, we should let them rest. To bring them back would be selfish, I think. Regardless of the sacrifice made." He chuckled nervously. "Sorry. I made it sad, didn't I?"

"It's a sad story, dude." Nino said. "You didn't make it sad."

Alya's skin crawled. _Same or not, what we're doing is definitely selfish. Will they forgive me?_ "Let's hurry. I want to get to Geosenge before nightfall."

With the story still in her head, and the image of the standing pillars listening in on them, Alya followed Marinette into Reflection Cave. Juleka and the boys followed behind.

They followed the signs, of course. They wanted to get through as quickly as possible, after all, and yet at some point they must have taken a wrong turn.

They found themselves in a dead end, facing a huge wall of reflective crystal. Alya could see herself clearly as if it was a mirror. She had bags under her eyes. Her clothes seemed suddenly worn out rather than worn in. She was breaking out and hated the sight of the pimples and other blemishes dotting her face.

Despite the solemn nature of their journey, that moment was the first that she thought, _travelling sucks._

Marinette called Misdreavus out of her pokéball, distracting Alya from the reflection. "Please find our way." She said, and Misdreavus took off.

"Guys…" Joshua said. "Are we lost?"

"Not terribly." Marinette said. "It's been a straight path for a while, if we backtrack we should find the main route again."

"What if we don't? What if we go back and we only get more lost?"

"You can't get more lost." Alya said. "It's a binary state. You are, or you aren't."

"So, we _are_ lost!"

"Nah, dude." Nino said. "We're just on vacation."

 _Hold on. Something seems odd._ "Will you guys please stop?" Marinette raised her voice a little. "We're not lost, and we're not on vacation. Just give me half a moment and I'll get us out of here."

"Pretending we're not lost isn't going to help." Alya said.

"Neither will being a jerk." Marinette retorted.

 _Wait._ Joshua clung to Nino's arm, to Nino's chagrin. _That's weird, right?_ "Dude, will you let go?"

"Sorry." Joshua backed off, fidgeting nervously but standing unnaturally close to Nino anyway. Nino took a step away.

"Wait, why did that bother you, Nino?"

"Because it's weird? We're not even in danger, he doesn't need to be clingy."

Alya frowned, seeing Joshua deflate. "But that shouldn't bother you. I know you. What's going on?"

"Maybe you just don't know as much as you think."

Marinette really raised her voice this time. "Will you all just shut up?! Follow me, we're getting out of here."

"Wait, somethings wrong." Alya said. "No one's acting normal."

"We don't have time for conspiracies, Alya."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about! You never dismiss me like that."

"What? Not feeling important enough? At least _someone_ is trying to get us out of here!"

"That's not it at all! I'm saying something weird is happening. It's making you guys touchy and…"

"Oh, shut up. We don't have time for this. Nino, Josh, don't fall behind."

Alya, stunned, slowed her steps. _Why won't she listen to me?_ "Hey!" She called. The others kept walking. They seemed to speed up, even. "Wait!" None of them even paused to look back at her. "We shouldn't get separated! Slow down!"

They rounded a corner, and Alya was on her own. After chasing after them and determining she was well and truly left behind, Alya sat down in front of a large crystal and watched her reflection carefully. _What happened? That wasn't normal behavior, for any of us. Marinette was way too mean, and Nino would've never shaken off Josh like that. And even Josh was a little irrationally afraid back there. And now that I'm thinking about it… something else isn't quite right._

 _But if those three get out of here and find the Hideaway, they'll be taken by surprise. I have to tell them before then, so I need to catch up._

For a split second, Alya's vision went blurry. She rubbed her eyes. _Stupid glasses._ "Alr-" She tried to speak, but no more sound would come from her throat. Panic bubbled in her chest. She tried to think aloud, but despite her mouth moving, she made no sound. _This is definitely not natural. I have to find the others, now._

She ran, navigating as blindly as silently, until she was out of breath and had to stop to wheeze soundlessly. But when she looked up, there were the others. Marinette scowled at her. "Such a slowpoke. Hurry up, Alya."

Nino shrugged. "Don't worry about it. We're still lost, too."

"We are not lost!"

Alya felt Joshua take her arm. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said. No sound came out, but she tried continuing anyway. "Fine. Just glad I found you."

"Me too! Honestly, I'm just glad to be a part of your group." He chuckled nervously. _How can he hear me?_ "And it's amazing how you guys don't keep any secrets from each other. I've never met anyone closer. I'd be really sad if we lost anyone."

 _What does that mean?_ Alya felt like his words were a knife, stabbing her heart. _No secrets, huh? I have one, but the only one who knows is…_ "Juleka!" Alya exclaimed. Once more she heard her own voice. "We forgot about Juleka! How could we forget her?"

"Who?" Nino asked. He chuckled easily. "Dude, you need to chill."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Joshua asked.

"Yes, I'm sure! How could you guys forget Juleka? How could I forget Juleka? Oh, Arceus, where'd she go?"

"Ugh." Marinette turned her back on them. "If you're going to sit around talking to your imaginary friends, you can stay here. I have a mission to accomplish."

"No, Mari, seriously! Something really weird is going on!"

"Nino! Start pulling your weight and get Noivern out here. He can find our way with sonar."

"Not without Juleka!" Alya tried to yell, but no more sound came out. She cursed her capricious voice and tried instead to grab Joshua's arm.

When her fingers closed around his bicep, he screamed. "Josh! Arceus dude, chill!" Nino said.

"Ah, sorry! She… Sorry." Joshua didn't seem to entirely see her. Alya pulled at her hair. _I need to find Juleka and figure out what's happening here._

Unable to speak, Alya just stormed off on her own, back to where she had come from. _I think I know how to get back. Back to that wall. The dead end where everything started falling apart._

Ironically, the longer Alya was on her own, the clearer her mind became. _I don't remember seeing Juleka since that wall. Hopefully she's stayed put._

 _What could cause this? A powerful psychic type pokémon, maybe. But why? We were just travelling through the cave. Or could Gabriel have seen us in the old home and sent something to do this to us? Maybe he found out his email was logged into in that house, or he still has access to some surveillance there._

 _Didn't see any cameras, but he's rich, so Arceus knows where they could've been hidden._

Rounding the corner and sprinting down the long hallway to the dead end, Alya finally caught sight of her friend. "Juleka!" Alya called, but no sound reached her friend.

Juleka was curled into a ball, her back to the mirror wall, and sobbing quietly into her knees.

"Jules!" Alya tried again to call to her, but still her voice didn't work. Juleka didn't look up.

Alya skidded to a halt next to Juleka and gently put a hand on her shoulder. Juleka looked up, her one visible eye big and red from crying. "Alya."

"I'm here." Alya said. Surprised to hear her own voice.

Juleka wiped at her eyes, smearing her make-up. "Where are the others?"

"I don't know. Something's messing with us. Even if we find them, none of them are thinking right. We need to find what's causing this."

Alya took Juleka's hand and pulled her to her feet. "You guys forgot me." Juleka said. "You didn't even see me."

Alya grit her teeth. Her chest hurt, knowing that she was guilty of exactly what Juleka had accused. "It wasn't us. Whatever's messing with our heads did it. We'd never forget you. You're our friend."

Tears sprung forth anew in Juleka's eyes. "Oh. Right." She took a moment to collect herself. "Sorry. Do you think… maybe whatever's messing with us is playing on what we're scared of?"

"You're scared of… Oh, Jules."

She shook her head. "What about you? What was weird from your end?"

"No one would listen to me! Marinette was acting like a jerk, and Nino was so irresponsible, and Josh was basically just a terrified little kid! And none of them would believe me when I told them this isn't normal!"

"I believe you."

"I… Thank you." Alya took a deep breath. She turned to the mirror wall, and saw the culprit. "Jules… do you see that, too?"

Juleka followed Alya's gaze. "Mega alakazam."

Alya spun around, reaching for Arcanine's pokéball. Before she could pull it off her belt, her body froze. She strained against it, but couldn't move. A glance told her that Juleka was in a similar state. Even her hair was frozen mid-air from the spin.

She rolled her eyes to the mega alakazam, glaring as best she could. _We need to beat it. If we beat it, we can put a stop to whatever this is. We need a dark type. Alakazam won't be able to trick a dark type._

 _Hold on._ She cast her eyes along the walls of the cave. She didn't notice before, because of the reflective crystals, but there was an unnatural shimmer along the stone. _Trick Room. Of course._

 _Our only dark type is Poochyena. Even if we get him out of the ball, he's not nearly strong enough to take on a mega pokémon alone._ She met eyes with Juleka, an understanding passing between them. _But he may be able to get us free. If he's careful. But something is even more concerning. Alakazam isn't acting like the megas we fought in the city. It's not destructive._

In a moment, before Alya regained movement, her surroundings changed. Rather than the mirror wall, she was in a winding tunnel, small and cramped. But luckily Juleka was still right by her side. The alakazam, however, was nowhere to be seen. "Do you think it's another one of the mega devices?" Juleka asked.

"Most likely. But probably a different model. It's not wild like the ones in the city were. This one is targeting us."

"We need to find the others."

"Agreed. Which way?"

A gentle breeze brushed past them. "That way." Juleka said, turning into the wind. "At least until we get in the open."

"Sure. Call out Poochyena, too."

"Good idea. Hopefully he can keep us on track."

Once Poochyena was out of his pokéball and the three of them found what they assumed was a main corridor, they didn't have to try too hard to find their friends.

First was Joshua. They hardly took two steps down the larger path before they heard muffled crying. Alya shared a look with Juleka and together they followed the sound.

And then there he was. Alya worried her lip. It was almost the exact same scene as when she found Juleka. _They don't deserve this._ Poochyena ran up eagerly and covered Joshua with friendly licks. "Huh?" He seemed stunned when he looked up at Poochyena. "What are you doing here?" His voice sounded dead, hopeless. "Juleka will miss you. You should get back to her."

Poochyena sat down and tilted his head. He glanced back at Juleka, who just crossed her arms and frowned.

"Go on." Joshua said. "You're one of them. You belong with them."

 _I see what's happening. He thinks we abandoned him. That he's not really a part of our group._ Alya looked to Juleka. _I don't know what to do, though._

Juleka approached, sitting down next to Joshua. "So do you." She said.

Joshua only just seemed to notice her. "Juleka… you're back. You came back." It sounded like his throat was seizing up with how strained the words were. "What are you doing here? You need to find Adrien."

"I feel left out a lot, too." She said. "Just earlier, I thought everyone forgot about me."

"How could anyone forget you? You're amazing! Not lik-"

"Don't even say that." Juleka cut him off harshly. "We wouldn't have even gotten this far without you."

"Yes, you would've. Alya is so smart, and Marinette is so strong. Together, you guys could do anything."

Poochyena jumped up onto Juleka's lap. She petted him idly as she spoke. "You might be right. Alya and Marinette could do anything they set their minds to." Alya put a hand to her chest, taken aback at Juleka's unwavering gaze. "But why do you think they brought us along, if that's the case?"

"We insisted. And you're a great trainer yourself. You're at least not slowing them down. They at least like you."

"Which of us doesn't like you?"

"You guys go to school together. You've been friends through the Lumiose attacks. I'm just… I'm just a stranger who got in the way. I don't have the experience you do. I'm not even friends with the rest of you like you are with each other."

"No. You don't. And you're not." Joshua curled up even tighter. "Of course, you're not friends with us the way we are with each other. You're friends with us in your own way. And we're friends with you. And we care about you."

He looked up. His eyes shone with such hope and innocence and pain and emotion that Alya felt it physically in her gut. "Promise?"

Juleka held up a hand. "Pinky promise. You're one of us now, and you're not going to get rid of us that easily."

Joshua tentatively reached out and intertwined his little finger with Juleka's. "Thank you."

"Now come on. Let's find Nino and Marinette."

"Right. They went that way, but…"

"It's fine." Alya said. "I don't think the alakazam is trying to separate us."

Juleka nodded. "That's right. It teleported us nearby, so we'd find you. We'll run into the others."

Alya decided to give Joshua a hug. "And for the record, we'll never leave you." She said.

She felt his iron grip around her and wondered what else the Trick Room had in store for them.

"So," She said as they walked the cavern, "I was ignored, Juleka was forgotten, and Josh was left behind. Is there a pattern?"

Joshua twiddled his thumbs nervously. "I'm kind of terrified of being abandoned. If that helps."

"Me too." Juleka said. "I've felt invisible for a long time. I'm always scared you guys will just forget about me."

Alya sighed. "If I'm honest, I'm scared of being ignored. Without my credibility, I'm not even sure who I am."

All of them were silent for a long, tense minute. "So, the Trick Room is showing us what we're afraid of." Joshua said.

"Seems so."

"So, what is Nino's and Marinette's?"

"That's a very good question."

Another long silence. "Do…" Joshua murmured. "Should we talk about it?"

"No." Alya said immediately. Joshua flinched. "Sorry. I mean, we can if you want. But after we get out of here. It's up to you. I'm not going to ask any questions. We'll all share if we want to, but no prying."

"Okay." Josh said.

"Works for me." Juleka said.

* * *

"It's your fault! Now we're lost and it's _your fault_!"

Alya paused at the familiar voice in such an unfamiliar tone. She looked to Joshua and Juleka.

"We're the worst! Mari's gone, Alya's gone, Josh is gone, even Jules! How did we screw up this badly?"

"Nino?" Alya called.

"They could be hurt, or lost, or… And we'll never find Adrien because we can't even find our friends in a stupid freaking cave!"

"Nino!"

"Over there." Juleka said. Alya grabbed her hand, and she in turn took Joshua's, and the three of them ran to where they heard Nino's voice.

Noivern screeched a greeting when he saw them, and that brought Nino's attention to them. "Guys… You're alright."

"Yeah, Nino. We're fine." Alya said. "It'll take more than this to beat us."

"I thought you… Noivern couldn't find the path, and Mari stormed off, and all you were already gone, and I… I didn't know what to…"

"It's alright. Can you tell us where Mari is?"

"No. No, I can't do anything."

"Noivern?" The pokémon seemed too concerned with his trainer to give Alya's request much thought. Alya sighed and took Nino by the shoulders. "Pull yourself together. We need to find Marinette, and we need to get out of here. You and Noivern are the best chance we have of doing that."

"No, we're not. We can't do it."

"Yes you can! You're done more than this before."

"Oh, no. I got the expectations up too high. I'm sorry. I'm letting you guys down. Arceus, I should probably just go home."

"No, Nino! You _can_ do it. We rely on you because you're reliable."

"No, no it's just a trick. A fluke."

"No, it's not. Once or twice is a fluke, but you've been the most reliable person I've known since I met you. Two years is too much for just a fluke. You're more capable than you know."

Nino seemed panicked. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to trick you like that. You can leave… I understand if you don't want to be friends with someone like me."

"Someone like you?" Alya was beyond incredulous. _This is ridiculous. Irrational._

"I'm not as competent as you think. It's fine, you guys can find Adrien. I believe in you. I'll wait back in Lumiose."

"Like hell you will! Look, I don't care if you _were_ as incompetent as you say. You're my friend and I'm not leaving you."

"Yeah!" Joshua said. "We'd never abandon you, dude!"

"Exactly." Juleka said. "We need you. We wouldn't be us if you weren't here."

"I…" Nino sputtered. "Are you sure?"

"I have literally never been more sure of anything in my life." Alya growled. "This is all the Trick Room messing with your head."

"Trick Room?"

"There's a mega alakazam around. It's messing with us."

"I… I don't…"

"Look, Nino." Alya cupped his face in her hands. "It can be hard to trust yourself. I know. Trust me instead, okay? Do you trust me?"

"Of course."

"Then find Marinette. I know you and Noivern can."

"I… okay." Nino backed up a little and turned to Noivern. "Let's give it a shot." Noivern turned down the tunnel and his huge ears swiveled wildly. He cried out after a few moments. "That way, right? Come on."

The group slowly made their way down the path, taking turn after turn, branching path one after another until Alya couldn't even pretend to know where she was anymore. But she trusted Noivern and Nino, and predictably, her trust was well-founded.

The earth shook around them, the still air blew past them suddenly before calming once more. "What the hell?" Alya said, grabbing Nino for balance.

 _Boom!_ Another quake, another gust. "Again!" A familiar echo of a voice bouncing its way to her ears. Another quake, another gust.

The four exchanged a glance and ran towards the shaking.

"Marinette!" Alya called. "What are you doing?" Mawile, mega evolved, panted next to a huge crater in the wall.

"If I can't find the exit, I'll make one. We don't have time to waste here."

"That's not how caves work, Mari! You don't know where you're going. You could just be digging _into_ the mountain."

"Well, it's more than any of you are doing!"

"We're doing our best."

"Well your best isn't good enough! We have to find Adrien!" She scoffed. "You just don't get it."

"Don't get it?" Alya asked incredulously. "What don't we get? Of course, we want to find Adrien!"

"It's not the same. You don't care as much as I do."

"How could you even say that? You know how much we care about him!"

"But I love him! It's different!"

"We love him, too!"

"Not like I do!"

Joshua's hand on her arm cut Alya off before she could retort. She saw the look in his eyes and nodded, backing off and letting him take over. "I can't speak for how much you love him." He said quietly. "But you're not the only one who does."

"Pfft. And what do you know? You haven't even been here! You weren't there when Adrien was fighting megas in the street. _I_ was."

Alya resisted the urge to comment only because Juleka touched her arm to remind her to let Joshua handle it. _That's uncalled for._

"You're right. I missed a lot." Joshua said. "And I wish I didn't, but I can't change the past."

"None of you want Adrien back as much as I do. Just go home. I'll do it myself."

"You're not the only one who loves him."

"I'm not talking about as a friend."

"I know." _Wait, what?_ Alya looked to Nino and Juleka, both of whom seemed equally surprised. _Josh has a crush on Adrien, too?_

"You… what?" The venom in Marinette's voice died a little.

"I love him too. The same way you do."

Marinette hardened again, recovering from the surprise. "Give up, then. You don't have a chance. I've been through too much with him."

"I know. You fought with him. You're partners. But you know, I've been through things with him that you haven't, too."

"Like what?"

"His mom dying. Meeting Rocco." Joshua smiled. "My mom leaving. We've been friends forever, you know. We've even had a few media storms thinking we were dating. Partly Rocco's fault, but I wasn't complaining." Joshua got a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Neither was Adrien, come to think of it."

"He probably just didn't want to hurt your feelings."

"You know, jealously isn't a good look on you." _What's he planning? Why's he goading her on?_ "It's a particularly garish shade of yellow." Despite the situation, Alya had to hold back a laugh. _She really does turn into a mini-Chloé when she's jealous, doesn't she? Not as bad, obviously, but they aren't as different as they like to think._

"Excuse me?"

"The world doesn't revolve around you, Marinette. First, we're not dedicated enough, now we should give up because Adrien only wants you? Please."

"You're _not_ dedicated enough. Even now you're just slowing me down. Why are you even here?"

"I told you. Because I love him too. I want to help him as much as you do." He stepped forward.

"Don't talk to me like that. You don't have the slightest idea how much I want to find him."

"Prove it, then. And I'll do the same. You say I'm slowing you down? Do something about it."

Marinette growled. "Mawile, Iron Head."

Alya couldn't hold back any longer when she heard that order. "No! Mari, you wouldn't."

"He's slowing me down. You all are. Leave, or I'll make you." Mawile cried out in protest. "I gave you an order."

"It's okay, Mawile." Joshua said. "We just need to show her our dedication, right?"

 _Oh. I get it now._ Mawile shared a look with him for a few seconds before Marinette repeated her order. She nodded resolutely, and her two jaws glowed and turned silver. She jumped, flipped, and brought her jaws down toward Joshua's head. He smiled and stared it down, unflinching.

"Wait!" Marinette cried. The terror in her voice mimicked that in Alya's stomach. _Boom!_ Alya coughed from the debris kicked up by the Iron Head hitting the ground. She couldn't see Joshua. _No. They planned that, right? She didn't actually hit him._ "Josh!" Alya couldn't see Marinette, but when the dust settled, she saw her hugging Joshua tightly. He was on his butt on the ground, but the two craters from Mawile's jaws were on either side of him. _He just got knocked off balance from the impact. He's fine._ "Arceus, I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking!"

Joshua laughed. "It's fine. Mawile would never have hurt me. Right?" He reached out to give Mawile a pet.

"You…" Marinette had trouble speaking. "You love him."

"I do."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I'm just glad you're thinking straight again."

"Yeah… I don't know what happened. You all just got on my nerves so much. You kept talking about other things, and you didn't seem like you even cared about getting out of here and… wow, I'm stupid."

"No you're not. There's a mega pokémon here. Alakazam. It's Trick Room is what did this. All of us were affected."

"A mega? Mawile…" Mawile nodded, ready for battle. "Where is it?"

"We do-" Everyone jumped when the mega alakazam suddenly teleported between them. "Aah!"

"Mawile!" Mawile jumped to attack, but without even a twitch, the alakazam froze Mawile, suspended in the air. She struggled, and managed to force through just a little, a far cry better than Alya had done earlier, but she wasn't getting an attack off anytime soon.

"Poochyena!" Juleka called. Poochyena bounded forward and dove for the alakazam, but it simply teleported out of the way. "Again!"

Poochyena began his next attack but skidded suddenly to a halt when a small silver disc floated out in front of the alakazam. Poochyena sat and tilted his head, whining softly. The disc floated down gently and hovered in front of Poochyena's nose. He sniffed it, then crunched it between his teeth.

Mawile dropped unceremoniously to the ground, and the alakazam floated motionless even as its mega evolution ended.

"I think its asleep." Joshua said.

"This doesn't make sense. Why would it give us the device?" Marinette paced a little. "And it wasn't acting like the megas in the city either. It was too calculating."

"The devices might have been improved." Juleka said, examining the little broken disc.

"Alakazam can see the future." Nino said. "Maybe it saw that we'd win, and just skipped the battle?"

Marinette worried her lip. "Maybe. Can I see that, Juleka?"

"Sure."

They all gathered around to look at the device. It didn't seem too much different from the ones in Lumiose, but Alya didn't know too much about that kind of thing, so she wasn't sure she'd be able to tell the difference. "I don't see any difference."

"It might not be different." Joshua said. "If it's emitting something that makes the pokémon mega evolve, it may just be calibrated to a slightly different frequency, or wavelength, or whatever units would apply to it."

"Hmm. Let's hang on to this."

"Agreed." Alya said. "Maybe the police can do something with it if we hit a dead end."

"Yeah. And what do we do about that one?" She looked at the alakazam.

"We'll wait and make sure it's okay." Nino said. "Then we move on."

"That works."

Alya exchanged a look with Juleka. _Just a longer wait._ "Guys." Juleka said. "Alya and I have something to tell you."

Alya sighed. _She's right. Shalour is just outside the cave anyway. We'd have to tell them soon one way or the other._ "Yeah." She said. "We got a little bit more on the Hideaway than we told you."

"Oh?" Marinette asked. "What is it?"

"The Hideaway isn't a massage parlor."

"Well, we figured there was something more going on than just that."

"It's a pokémon brothel."

Alya couldn't look at the dumbfounded expressions on her friends' faces. Joshua's voice was painful to her ears. "I'm sorry, a what?"

"It's a whorehouse." Alya said. "The 'employees' are pokémon, and the customers pay to have sex with them."

"No, I understand what a brothel is, I just… what?"

"And how long have you known?" Marinette asked.

"Since Cyllage. Chloé told us same time she gave us the location."

"I see."

Nino stepped forward. "Why didn't you say anything? Those pokémon are…"

"If we called the police when we found out, we wouldn't have time to find the place and get information on Adrien."

Simultaneously, Marinette and Joshua turned red and covered their faces. "What was Adrien doing there anyway?" Joshua asked.

"Same thing we are. Looking for clues."

"But the pokemon…" Nino said. "You're leaving them in there."

"We'll report the place as soon as we have what we need."

"This is fucked up."

"I know."

"Hey," Joshua said. "Why didn't Adrien report it? He definitely would have, right?"

"Of course, he would!" Marinette said. "So… he must have been stopped somehow."

"Maybe Gabriel caught him." Juleka said. "That's why he never came back."

"We can't waste time, then."

Joshua clasped his hands together, mumbling, and no one else made any effort to move. "We can't leave Alakazam, though." Nino said.

"Hybrids and pokephilia…" Joshua murmured. "Mew, what have we gotten ourselves into?"

"More like hybrids and sex trafficking, but you're close." Alya muttered. "What choice do we have, though?"

"Sorry." Joshua flinched. "I understand that that's the worst of it, but the thought of…"

"We're not getting into this debate."

"No. You're right. It doesn't matter what we think about it. What matters is that we find our next clue and shut the Hideaway down."

"Yeah."

"Um. Is it… I'm kind of scared." Joshua said. "Going in there."

"We all are." Marinette said. "But we have to."


	6. Hideaway Massage Parlor

Everyone agreed to wait until they were sure the alakazam was okay, which in hindsight was a good call, since once it woke up it teleported them all straight into Shalour City.

"Okay." Marinette said, taking in their surroundings. "So what's the plan with the Hideaway?"

Nino looked around. They weren't far from the beach, and they could even see the Route 12 gate in the distance. _We're pretty close._ The salty air felt strange to him, despite all the time in Cyllage city that he had to get used to it.

"We need to get inside somehow." Alya said. "How do you think their security is?"

"Hard to say. They definitely take lots of care to stay hidden. It might be easiest to pretend to be customers."

Joshua shivered. "All of us?"

"We can't pay, anyway." Alya said. "So, no. Plus all of us would be suspicious. We need to send one person in, with an escape route."

No one volunteered.

"Aren't we, uh, a little young?" Nino asked.

"We're technically adults." Alya said. "But it will probably be a little odd for whoever's looking over the place. To be safe, we need the most unassuming of us. Someone who won't stand out in any other way."

"So," Juleka said, "one of the boys."

"Excuse me?" Joshua's voice went up an octave.

Juleka shrugged. "There are a lot more male visitors than female. We'd stand out more than you."

 _Oh no. I see where this is going._ "No." Nino said. "No. No way."

Alya looked at him sympathetically. "Dude…"

"No! I'm not… just no."

"Josh is a model. We'd run the risk of him being recognized."

"I can't go in there alone! I've never even… I mean… no!"

"Nino, please."

Marinette put her hand on his arm. "Take Ralts with you. If anything goes wrong at any point, you can teleport right out."

"Uh, no." Joshua said. "Take Gallade instead. Ralts is… not old enough for this kind of thing."

"Seconded." Juleka said. "If there's an alternative, the kids stay out of this."

Marinette shrugged. "Probably for the best."

"Wait, wait, since when is it just decided that I'm going?" Nino squeaked.

"It was a democratic process. You've been voted our representative." Alya said. "Good luck."

"Hey!"

"Don't worry, Nino." Marinette said. "Misdreavus will keep an eye on you, and we'll all be just outside."

"Give us your phone, and just take your earpiece. They can't ask you to turn the phone off, and we can hopefully keep it close enough that we can talk." Alya said, already rummaging through his bag. "If not, then Misdreavus will be our primary communication."

"What if they don't let me hang on to my pokémon?"

Alya looked between Marinette and Juleka. "They will."

"How do you know that?"

"Dude, it's a pokémon brothel."

Joshua covered his face. "On second thought, I'm not sure I want Gallade in there."

"Though Gallade being male may be a problem." Alya said.

Juleka hummed. "True. But so long as Misdreavus is in there, she can swipe the pokéballs and get them to Nino if he needs them, right?"

"Right."

"Actually, Nino," Joshua said. "Take Ditto." His jacket turned back into the amorphous pink blob and jumped from Joshua's arm to Nino's shoulder. "It can get you through almost any lock, and it's…" Joshua looked like he was going to be sick. "It's not that weird that someone would want to bring it in."

"He's right." Alya poked at Ditto playfully. "With its transformations, I imagine this particular niche would be-"

"Okay, we don't need to talk about it!" Nino exclaimed.

"And it's not strictly male, so no worries there. Gallade will still be the escape route, but Ditto would be a good partner when you're investigating."

Nino buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe this."

"With Gallade and Ditto is six, so you can bring your own pokémon, at least as far as they let you. If you get in trouble, Misdreavus will bring you a fighter."

"Not exactly filling me with confidence."

"So we understand the plan?"

"No?" Nino gave Alya the most incredulous look he could. "What am I supposed to do in there?"

"I mean the name says it all." Juleka said.

"Jules!"

"Sorry."

"Look." Alya said. "We need you to find evidence that Gabriel is involved with the place. Or better, evidence of Adrien being there. Try to slip into the back rooms. Explore, but be careful. I'd look for the main office. The place where the guy in charge stays. That'll get you the most damning stuff, most likely."

Nino took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Wait." Marinette said. "Really, Nino. Someone else can go if you're not comfortable."

Nino remembered seeing himself in the crystal back at Reflection Cave. He hated the boy to looked back at him. The scared boy who let his friends fight in front of him, who shirks responsibility because he's afraid he's not good enough. _I don't want to be that guy._ "No, it's fine. I can do it." _I can. I can and I will._

"That's my boy." Alya clapped him on the back and began guiding him towards the city proper, closer to the Hideaway. "Remember to be flexible. You can't focus too hard on a plan so much as getting around without being noticed. And go ahead and give me your phone, we'll get you set up."

"No." Nino's throat felt tight. "It'll be suspicious if I have a headpiece without a phone. It makes more sense to bring it with me and hope they don't confiscate it. If they do, Misdreavus can get it back to me, right?"

"Yeah. If you're sure you're comfortable with that. Once you go in…"

"I'll be on my own. I know. But with Misdreavus, Ditto, Gallade, and all my pokémon, I think I'll be fine."

Alya grinned and ruffled his hair through his hat, tipping it nearly off his head. "You'll definitely be fine. Ditto, can you do the jacket thing?" Ditto yipped happily and transformed into a comfortable jacket on Nino. "If they don't notice, you may be able to bring more pokémon with you that way. We don't know what their policies are."

"Good idea." Nino worried his lip. "But… no, it's not. If they do notice, I'll be under more suspicion. Best do things their way until I get inside."

He was awarded an approving look from Alya and Ditto's pokéball from Joshua. They passed by the Pokemon Center. "I wish Luxio was evolved. X-ray vision would really be useful. As it is, we don't have any way of seeing you."

"I'll be fine." He said.

"Still… We'll be right around the corner."

Marinette nodded. "We'll take positions around the building. So no matter where Misdreavus comes out, we'll know."

They passed the malasada shop and turned into the alley. "Remember, Nino. Three, one, three, four, five, one, one, five. That's the knock code."

"Three, one, three, four, five," He repeated, "one, one, five. Got it."

"Good luck, we'll be waiting."

Nino stood in front of a grungy metal door with peeling red paint. His four friends were already gone. "Okay." He took a deep breath, touched his pokéballs, and knocked.

 _Tap. Tap. Tap._

A short pause.

 _Tap._

Pause.

He continued until the code was finished, and stepped back. The sound of a sliding lock made him jump, and the door opened to a man entirely too well dressed for the back alley they were in.

Nino only got a glance inside at the sterile white interior before the suited man blocked his vision. "Ah, I don't believe we've had the pleasure. You must be new to our little community."

 _Community?_ His hand was taken and shaken before he could get his mouth to work.

"Let me guess, first timer? Ah, yes, it's always special the first time. You must be more than a little nervous, but not to worry, not to worry, old Richard here will guide you through the whole process. Save, of course, the fun bit." He winked, and Nino blanched.

"Don't worry it's all very simple. Come in, come in. Do, come in. It's always nice to see young people taking an interest in our work. Gives me hope for the future. Well? Don't just stand there, I said come in!" Nino was rushed inside by the surprisingly strong middle-aged man and sat down on a white stool in front of the white desk behind which the man sat on a white chair and placed his white-framed spectacles on his nose. _I'm surprised his suit isn't white. Honestly, it kind of hurts my eyes._

"Now, young man, since it's your first time, we have a few basic rules to go over. You understand. We are a business after all." He chuckled amiably, which only put Nino more on edge. "Oh, relax! Maybe some tea to calm your nerves? Jacob! Oh, where is that Jacob. Jacob! There you are. Fetch us some tea, would you? Our guest needs to calm his nerves." _And now I'm suspecting drugs. Arceus what has this adventure done to my head?_ "Now, first off young man, standard question, do you have the name of the one who referred you to our fine establishment?"

 _Travis Baker. But I don't know how this works. I probably want to keep my cards close to my chest as long as I can. This is an underground place. I should act like someone who doesn't want to be caught._ "Uh… no."

"Good! Good! Of course you don't! Secrets are, after all, our business! We value visitors who can be discrete." Nino resisted the urge to let out a sigh of relief. _At least try to pretend you're confident about what you're doing. Nervous, yeah, but like you're just nervous about what he thinks you're going to do. Not about what you're actually going to do._ "And your name, young man? And phone number, please, or other contact method. We'll need to see your ID, too. All confidential of course, for our use only. Once you're in our system, you'll get the monthly knock code sent to you via your preferred method. No ads or bothersome nagging, promise. And nothing incriminating of course. Just the code, from a new number every month. Our best men assure me it is totally untraceable."

Nino coughed awkwardly. _Do I give him my real name? Shit, I don't have a fake ID so I don't think I have a choice._ "Uh. Nino Lahiffe." He dug out his wallet and handed the man his ID.

"Very good, very good. And your contact method?"

"Phone." Nino recited his phone number for the man.

"Ah! Lumiose area code. Very good, very good. You should receive a message. Just a confirmation of course." Once Nino's phone chimed and showed the message from an unknown number, the man clapped his hands together. "Very good, very good. Now the rules." He stood and handed Nino his ID back. "Come, come. Ah, thank you, Jacob. Come, young Nino."

Nino scrambled after the man who had taken off through a door into a hallway just as starkly white as the lobby. He accepted the tea and cautiously sniffed it before taking a sip. Strangely enough, it did help calm his nerves. _The magic of hot tea._ "There we go. Much better, isn't it?" The ornate teacup felt too fragile in Nino's hand. _This thing is probably more expensive than my house._ "As a new guest, your standard membership is free." He pulled a card out of a small slot in the wall without even pausing. "Here you are."

Nino took the white card. It was a laminated card with shimmery silver lettering on the too-white paper. _This is absolute hell on the eyes. Do they do this on purpose._ "Ah, yes." The man said, as if reading his mind. "Sorry about that. It helps in case someone accidentally gets a peek you see. Very difficult to read from the wrong angle. Not that we'd just hand out anything that could incriminate you, of course. As you can see, nothing on the card is suspect in any way."

 _Hideaway Massage Parlor. Member name: Nino Lahiffe. Member status: Silver._ He flipped the card, finding the back was totally blank except for a silvery magnetic strip.

"Very minimalist, isn't it? No matter. Rules! I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to turn your phone off and leave it at the desk once we get down there. You must turn in your pokémon as well."

"My pokémon?"

"Of course, naturally some visitors want to share our experience with their pokémon, but alas, safety first. We can't allow you more than one pokémon inside the premises."

"Oh. I understand." An intimidating man in a suit just as smart as the one the middle-aged man was in stopped him before they could continue.

"Standard procedure. Please allow my associate to search you. Safety first, and all that."

"Uh. Right." Having a giant of a man roughly pat him down was, in all honesty, not even the strangest thing Nino was feeling at the time. _This is all going way too fast._

"Good! Good. Very good! Inside now!" They approached an elevator at the end of the hallway, and Nino was ushered hurriedly inside. "Now remember: everything that happens in the Hideaway stays in the Hideaway. Unless agreed beforehand, do not acknowledge in any way outside here the people you see within. As a silver member you will have some areas locked off from you. Yes, I know, it's all very unfortunate, but we need to make money somehow!"

"Speaking of." Nino said, watching as the man pressed the down button on the elevator. _No floors, just "down". Weird._ "How much does it cost? I didn't…"

"Oh don't you worry! We know that being so secret means people aren't always prepared. That's why newcomers get one free appointment. From here on, it will depend on the specific host you want to make an appointment with, but we typically charge per hour per host. Upgraded memberships, will, of course, reduce that cost at the expense of a monthly fee, as well as grant you access to more exclusive areas of our facility and, indeed, more desirable hosts. They're so busy, you understand."

"Of course." Nino said robotically.

"You can take a look at our specific prices once we reach the desk. Ah, I almost forgot. We pride sanitation and value here at the Hideaway, so we insist on the use of condoms. But you needn't worry, a collection can be found in the bedside drawer when you reach a room. While no known STDs are confirmed to transfer from human to pokémon, or vice versa, we are all too aware that little credible research has been done on the subject, and thus insist for everyone's safety. Naturally, we have our own researchers on site that ensure the health of our hosts on a regular basis. We are, quite frankly, very strict about that matter. So, as long as you follow the rules, you've absolutely nothing to worry about."

 _Researchers on site? They have a lab here? Sounds like it's mostly disease research, but still if I can find it… maybe something will point to H-1._ "There's a laboratory here?" He asked, trying his best to sound casual.

"Oh, yes. Much of the money we make goes to hiring sympathetic scientists who will help us ensure the safety of both our hosts and visitors."

 _Have we still not reached the bottom? How far underground are we going?_

"BDSM requires gold membership, and another set of rules naturally goes along with that, but we'll cover that if it ends up being relevant to you. For now, what you need to know is that we will not tolerate abuse of our hosts. They are checked regularly, and if anything seems out of place, our doctors will tell us and we will launch an investigation. Despite what some think, we do not tolerate pokémon abuse here. Everyone here believes pokémon to be intelligent beings worthy of the same respect as humans. Naturally, our hosts hold the right to refuse service. You will be reimbursed in that instance, so long as there's no evidence of foul conduct. But thankfully we have rarely had to deal with those situations. After all, we love pokémon."

As the door of the elevator slid open, Nino began to feel a twinge of doubt. _That's… not so bad. I mean, of course it's the sales pitch. There's no telling what's going on behind the scenes, but if he's telling the truth then…_

"Come, come. Right this way." In front of the elevator was a long, sleek desk in front of a wall of frosted glass that had water running down it. The trickle of water was soothing. "I'll take that. You step right up." The man took the teacup from Nino and ushered him to the desk.

"Card, please." The woman at the desk said.

"Your membership card." The man clarified. "You'll need to swipe in anytime you come down here. It also allows you use of the elevator, but I'm still guiding you at the moment, so you needn't worry about that yet." _So this works the elevator._ He handed the lady his card and waited until she handed it back. _Looks like this thing will be important. Come to think of it, he did swipe a card at the elevator, didn't he?_ "Now, since this is your free appointment, you won't have a choice of host. They're busy, after all. Very busy. Can't take walk-ins, no siree. But luckily for you, every one of our hosts is experienced and will do their utmost to make it a pleasurable time for you. We want you to come back, after all!" He chuckled. "Now, if you'll sign in here." He took Nino over to a familiar book. _A ledger. It's green. Does the color matter?_ "All confidential, of course." The man repeated. "Simply here so we know who our hosts have serviced, and we know who to contact in the miniscule chance our scientists find something concerning. Haven't had to use it yet, but safety first!"

Nino picked up the pen and shakily wrote his name along with the date. "Wonderful!" The man said. "Don't worry about the host section. We'll fill it in for you when we confirm which one will help you. Now, pokéballs on the tray, please, and your phone."

Nino turned his phone off and placed it on the tray, then began putting his pokéballs in the slots. "Um, you said we're allowed one pokemon?" He looked up to the man.

"Yes. But pokéballs are forbidden. If you want to bring a pokemon with you, you must bring her outside the pokéball."

"Okay." Nino released Ditto and placed the pokéball on the tray. The gleam in the man's eyes upon seeing Ditto made the hair on Nino's neck stand on end.

"Oh ho ho. You'll be popular."

"Sorry?"

"Now would be a good time to explain the waiting process I suppose. Come, come." Nino looked nervously at Ditto and followed the man around the waterfall to the door behind it. "Naturally, those hoping to see a particular host sometimes must wait a while before they're free. As such we've provided a place to relax while you wait. Of course, if someone catches your eye and you both consent, you're very much allowed to have sex with other visitors. Since none of our hosts are involved, the only fee is for a room if you desire one."

"If we desire one?"

"Ah, yes. Some of our visitors are rather into exhibitionism. Fair warning, before we go inside. Those that do not get a room are allowed to do it in the common room. We have waiting rooms and bars outside the common room, if you'd rather not witness such events, but we encourage you to socialize with like-minded individuals. If anyone gives you trouble, you simply call an employee and we will swiftly resolve the problem. You reserve the right to refuse consent in any situation. As does, naturally, your pokémon."

 _Oh. Oh, shit._

"As we like to foster the community, we allow our members to use our facility as long as they need. That means the common room has turned into something of a hangout for the lower members especially. When you can't afford a host, you can always try picking someone up in the common room. But of course, in this case we can't guarantee safety. If you solicit a visitor and get a disease or if they are too rough with you, then we are free from liability. It's all in the membership."

"Hang on, that sounds like I should have signed a contract or something."

"Oh, you can refuse membership if you wish. But you needn't worry. All it is is that you can't sue us, but really, how would you? You can't go to a court with this."

"That's true."

"And so we come to what's beyond this door."

"Which is…"

"The common room, of course. Mind the smell. People get sweaty very quickly in here. As a silver member this is your entrance to the facility. The other doors are for higher members only, and lead to exclusive areas."

"Understood."

The man opened the door, and the heat and sweat and musk took Nino off-guard. The man laughed. "You get used to it. Step inside, step inside. Soon you won't even notice."

Nino followed the man inside, worrying his lip as they stepped around another dividing wall into the common room proper. Even before he could see anything, Nino only had one thought. _I need an adult._

Moans, grunts, growls, yowls, and myriad other sounds filled the heavy air like static. Rave music played over speakers, only encouraging the mass of bodies in the center of the room. The man had to raise his voice for Nino to hear him. "Typically, the closer to the center you are, the more frisky people get. Stay on the edge, and you most likely won't have too many people grabbing you."

"Most likely?" Nino followed closely as the man skirted the outside of the room. A few people took notice of him, men and women alike in every state of clothed possible, and whispered to each other. He shifted uncomfortably, feeling dirty. Instinctively, he dropped his gaze to the ground _Arceus… That's… a lot of naked people._ It felt wrong to look at them. _I'm too ace for this._

"Don't mind them!" His guide said. "It's not often a ditto is brought in here. They're hoping for a chance, is all!"

"Ah." Nino chuckled nervously. "I see."

"Anyway, right over there is the bar, as you can see." Nino turned his gaze to the bar in the far corner of the room, scanned across the sofas and chairs filled with people and pokémon having sex, to a much more subdued corner likewise filled with sofas and chairs but most of the people there were simply watching the large television on the wall and cuddling rather than the debauchery in the middle of the room. On the far end was a hallway, plus the one Nino seemed to be headed for and the one he came from made a "T" with the common room in the intersection.

"This way is the private rooms." His guide said, quieter now that they had begun their walk down the hallway and left the common room behind. "On the other side of the common room are the other waiting areas I mentioned. There are a few private rooms over there as well, but if you're here with an appointment with a host, you'll be down this hall.

"And here we are! You'll be in this room for your appointment. Since it's your first time, we'll ask you to wait here and get acquainted with the room. All rooms have the same layout, so you should be able to find anything you need once you get used to it. Once your appointment is over, you'll officially be set loose and you can come and go to your hearts content! We encourage spending some time to get acquainted with the facility. Explore a little! Off limits areas are clearly labeled, so you shouldn't have any problems." The man tapped his chin. "Let's see, what else? Ah, right. Special rooms cost extra to rent, even if you're with another visitor. Those include voyeur rooms, which are on the second floor – stairs at the end of the hall – and look out over the common room, and BDSM rooms which come with all manner of toys. A few standard toys come in every room, and are sterilized after every use, but any other toys will need to be rented for extra cost. Anything else? Any questions?"

Nino swallowed the lump in his throat. _They'll let me explore. Encourage it even. Obviously, I'll need to get to the off-limits section, but it's a good start. But only after the appointment. I can't… I can't do that…_ "Do we… you know. With an appointment, I mean. Do we have to…"

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to, young Nino. Consent is taken very seriously here at the Hideaway. No one will think anything of it if you do not make use of our hosts' full services. Do keep in mind, however, that this is your only free meeting with a host, so make your decision carefully."

"Yeah. Okay. Thank you."

"Go on, then. Inside. Your host will be with you shortly!"

Nino fiddled with his shirt as he walked into the room. He jumped when the door closed behind him, leaving him all alone. _Arceus._ He thought. _This is insane._ He stepped over to the bed and sat down. _So soft. Where does money for this come from? I had no idea there would be so many people down here. How deep even are we?_ He pulled open the drawer on the bedside table and, as promised, was a very organized selection of condoms. He promptly shut the drawer and stood again.

The room was very simple. _Probably lots just like it._ On the wall near the door was a slider. When he moved it the lights dimmed. He left it on as bright as it could go. A small corner of the room was sectioned off with a wall and, through the door, Nino found a cramped bathroom. _I suppose that would be necessary, huh. Come to think of it, I didn't ask where the regular bathrooms are._

Aside from that, it was the simple bed with soft blue sheets. Nothing exceptional, but then, he figured the exceptional rooms were reserved for those who paid for it.

He collapsed on the bed. _I haven't even done anything yet and I'm already exhausted._ He flipped over, staring at the blank white ceiling. _Where could something be hiding? Well, Gabriel's rich, so the upper member areas is a place to start, then there's the staff areas. I'll see if I can't find where the entrances are while I'm wandering around the places I won't get in trouble for being in. Though that means I'll have to go through the common room once or twice at least._ "Hey, Ditto?" He looked over to Joshua's pokémon. "When we're exploring, do the jacket thing again, would you? Might be easier if we don't have people drooling over you."

Ditto exclaimed happily and bounced on the bed. _It's all so much to take in. We kind of assumed the worst of this place, but I haven't actually seen anything shady just yet. Gross, yeah, and illegal sure, but not… bad. We all agreed that consent is the only thing that matters, and if the pokémon consent then… well do we have the right to shut this place down? That guy at least seemed earnest about it._

 _But then, I'm only seeing the surface. Gabriel is wrapped up in this place somehow, and we know he's up to no good. And they wouldn't exactly show the worst stuff to anyone who walks in the door. I can't assume anything._

 _And man, there were a lot more people than I expected. Did they all just come to visit? It's almost like a club or something. You'd think that many people would be noticed. Maybe I can ask around about it later? I'm sure most of the visitors are alright. They probably don't know any more than me, as far as shady business is concerned. Most likely, the majority of the staff even aren't in on anything really bad going down. It's just the elite._

 _It's always just the elite._

Nino jumped a little when he saw Misdreavus pop her face into the room through the ceiling. She smiled mischievously at him and disappeared again. _She's here. That's actually really comforting._

 _Let's make a plan. I know of two main hallways that are open to me. Once I'm out of here I'll explore this one, then return to the common room. I'll ask some of the people there about this place, find out what they think, then I'll head down the other hallway. From there, I'll pick an entrance and break into the locked parts of the place._

 _Now that I think about it, I haven't seen any clocks. If I stay down here too long, everyone will get worried. Maybe I'll have to… If I have to, I'll come back. Keep an eye on my watch, and if it gets too late, I'll call it a day. Something about this place makes me think it's easy to lose track of time._

 _Well, that's after I confirm I can get back in, obviously. It sounded like the common room and those places were free, but… Well, best to double check._

The door handle shook, and Nino jumped. _Oh, shit._ It turned. The door opened. When it did, a houndoom dropped back onto all four paws and padded inside, kicking the door closed behind her. _Oh, double shit. Now it's just_ weird _. With Adrien's houndoom I just… Arceus, no. Nope. Nuh-uh._

The houndoom approached him without hesitation and hopped up, propping her front paws on the edge of the bed, on either side of his legs. She leaned in close and sniffed at his face. Her hot, sweet-scented breath made Nino think of Adrien in the rain with fires and melting windows and asphalt and a mega houndoom instead of a regular one. He wasn't even there personally, but still the image made him flinch.

His cheek was wet, suddenly, where she licked him. It tingled. Like when Adrien's houndoom, Ghenn, licked him. Adrien said it was the same toxin that made houndoom's flame so dangerous. _Oh my god I'm not going to do anything but still please stop comparing those two contexts._

"Uh, look, sorry, but… I don't want to… I don't want…" He stumbled over his own words. _She's a pokémon for Arceus' sake. Use sentences you moron!_ "I don't want to… have… sex…"

The houndoom looked at him quizzically, shrugged, and climbed up onto the bed next to him, resting her head on his thigh and doing nothing more.

 _In a way, this is kind of good. If I can remember what Adrien said about houndoom… Glossy coat, soft too._ He ran his hand down her head until his fingers bumped into the bone protrusions. _White horns and armor, she's clearly cleaned regularly. And this kind of coat doesn't come without a good diet._ She repositioned under his hand slightly, and he felt the solid muscle ripple underneath her skin. _Strong, too. No evidence of physical abuse either, like that guy said. In fact, outwardly, she seems extremely well taken care of._

 _How long am I supposed to stay here?_ Nino resisted the urge to shift and disturb the houndoom. _Everyone is still just waiting outside, and I'm here. Chilling. Sure. This works._ "Hey, uh…" The houndoom looked up at him. "How long are we supposed to stay here?"

In answer, she stood, shook, walked around him, planted the curved flats of her horns on his back, and gently nudged him to his feet. "You're saying… I can go whenever?" She nodded. "Oh. Okay."

He stood, awkwardly, instead of walking out the door like he knew he should. The houndoom tilted her head in question. "Do you, uh…" Nino said. "They treat you well here." She nodded. "And this…" He gestured vaguely between them. "This is something you want to do?" Another nod. "Oh. Okay."

She stepped off the bed onto the floor and took his hand gently in her mouth, guiding him back to the bed. Without thinking, he just obediently did as he was told. He sat down, still not sure how to process anything that was happening, and felt a cold nose hit his abdomen. "Wha-" It snapped him out of his thoughts long enough to realize what the houndoom was doing. "Hey! No. I don't… Uh… I'm not… down for that. You know?" Nino would have sworn she was smirking at him. It made him feel like he needed to explain himself. "Look I'm not here for…"

The houndoom picked his cap up off the bed, where it must have fallen when he laid down, and placed it on his head. Then, she passed him by, brushing his cheek with her tail as she did so, and sat down next to the door. _Cheeky thing._ He smiled. _But at least in this instance, it's ending well. And she's healthy and strong and treated well, which gives me hope._ He got up to join the houndoom at the door, picking up Ditto along the way.

 _As weird as it is, if I'm going to be consistent in my beliefs, I can't condemn this place. Not yet, at least. But evidence of something that would condemn them is kind of part of what I'm looking for, so no judgements yet._

He opened the door, followed the houndoom out, and parted ways with her.

Once she had disappeared around a corner, Nino looked at Ditto. "Alright, buddy. Time to get to work."


	7. Uprooted

As planned, Nino started by wandering further down the hallway he was in. Carefully, he peeked around the corner to see the houndoom he was with earlier slip inside a door labeled "employees only". _That's someplace to check out. The guide guy said that any appointment with the hosts will most likely be in this hallway, so that might be the door they use to get in and out of this section of the place. That way they'd never have to cross the common room._

Ditto took the form of a jacket around him, and he stepped into the corridor. _It's not locked. I don't think so, anyway. Hmm._ Further down the hallway, Nino found one maintenance closet and another employees only room. He glanced to the ceiling, seeing Misdreavus poke her face out. To tell her what to look at, he paused and examined the employees only door. When she disappeared back into the ceiling, he continued walking. On the stairwell, Misdreavus appeared again and nibbled on his finger. He frowned. "Kitchen?" She nodded and vanished once more.

 _So, a door that probably leads to where the hosts hang out. Or stay, or whatever. I don't actually know if they live here. And a door that leads to a kitchen? Why is there a kitchen here of all places? Hmm, but it's not really anything that would have something I'd be interested in._

Upstairs, Nino found the more exclusive rooms. Each one had a helpful little note on them, saying what kind of room it was and how much it would cost to use. _So, this floor is for more specialized stuff. Looks like some suites are up here too. Huh._ As he approached the common room once more, he noticed that nearly all the rooms along one hallway were labeled as voyeur rooms. About half of them listed one-way glass, and the other half was just regular glass, so people in the common room could see in if they looked up. _Rooms for anyone, I guess._

 _What I really need to find is the laboratories. If I can find anything that hints to H-1, I can link Gabriel to this place. And that's my starting point. It'll tell me where else to look. Hopefully. It's possible, anyway._

He was interrupted in his exploration a few times by other visitors roaming the halls. Once, embarrassingly, he even had to turn down an electabuzz that was quite clearly coming onto him. Back in the common room, but on the second floor, Nino took just a moment to lean on the hand rail overlooking the room. Behind him was a small waiting space with a couple loveseats and a television, and over the rail he could look down at the interspecies orgy. _This is still so unreal. I can't believe something like this is just here under Shalour City. Is there one in Lumiose? Are they everywhere?_

"Hey there."

Nino jumped, turning to see an attractive man join him at the guard rail. He was tall, with unruly black hair and a smile that if the situation seemed more real to Nino he might interpret as really friendly.

"You're new here, yeah?"

Nino eyed him warily. _He's got to be in this thirties or something. This isn't what I meant when I said I need an adult._

 _Also: I need an adult._

The man laughed easily. "Don't worry about it. It's always kind of overwhelming for newcomers. You'll get used to it. Names Lucas, by the way. Lucas Black."

"Nino."

"Good name. You're kind of young, ain't you?"

Nino chuckled. "Yeah." He rubbed his neck. "Seventeen."

"You know, back home in Unova you wouldn't even be allowed in here. Legal age there is eighteen. Seeing a kid like you here is… man. Culture shock."

Nino laughed again, a bit more easily. "Yeah, well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not actually doing anything."

"No? Why'd you come, then?"

Nino shrugged, unsure how to explain it without giving himself away. "Heard about it. I was curious."

"Yeah, everyone is. It's not a bad place. Once you get past that." He gestured to the floor below them. Nino decided not to look down. "People are friendly here. And not just in that way."

"I've noticed."

"Hmm." Lucas examined him. "You came in with a pokémon, didn't you? Ditto, right?"

 _Oh, no._ "Yeah…" Nino said uncertainly.

Lucas snickered. "Don't worry. I'm not going to ask to borrow it. Smart play there, by the way, with the jacket. People are friendly here, but if you've got a ditto you're going to get the wrong kind of friendly. Tip from someone who's been here a few times, next time don't bring a ditto."

Nino laughed. "Yeah. I figured that much out. I didn't think it would be such an… open thing."

"Welcome to Kalos." Lucas chuckled. "So, first impressions?"

"It's… a lot."

"Pfft, yeah it is."

"But… I admit I was a lot more concerned before I actually got down here. I mean, that's a little concerning." He gestured below them. "But when I heard about what this place was, I kind of assumed the worst, you know?"

"But you came anyway?"

"I definitely considered just reporting it on the spot, but…" Nino paused, knowing he couldn't tell him the real reason he was here. _Lie, then. Something someone who would actually come here would say._ "I wanted to hope."

"And does it live up to your standards?"

Nino hummed. "So far."

"Good. Stay skeptical. I've been in this community for a while and I've seen some bad shit, dude. Most of us are good people, but when everything's done underground, you have to be especially careful. For your sake and the pokémon's. This place is the largest operation I've ever found. That alone makes me skeptical, but I haven't seen anything bad yet."

"How much have you looked for it?"

Lucas smirked down at him. "I like you, kid. You're curious. That'll serve you well." He shifted his gaze to the floor below. "I keep an eye out. What about you? How closely are you going to look?"

Nino hummed and fought the smirk that threatened to fall on his lips. "Like you said, I'm curious."

Lucas laughed. "Well, is there anything in particular you're curious about that an old man like me can help with? Newcomers are kind of thrown in here, so you must have questions."

"A few." He admitted. "Where does the funding for this come from?"

"It's not a non-profit. Rooms cost money. They also get cash from the bars and the hosts, and membership upgrades. Some real fancy-types come here sometimes. Got the highest-level membership. Expensive as heck. They also donate sometimes, which helps the place out." Lucas chuckled. "You probably won't ever see them. They're all high-society, my-rep-will-be-ruined types. That's what the special doors are for. So they don't have to mingle with common folk who might spill over a grudge because they were screwed over in a deal or something."

"Hmm. Sounds like you aren't too fond of them."

"Not particularly. They're the kind of people that pass laws that put people like us in jail and force businesses like this underground and only exacerbate sex trafficking, while coming here in their downtime. Hypocrites." Lucas sighed. "Don't get me wrong. Without them, we probably wouldn't have this place. It definitely wouldn't be as nice. But if they'd stop lying to themselves and us, things would be better. Probably. But what do I know?"

"You really think it'd be that different? I mean, pokémon or not, this place is kind of…"

Lucas laughed. "Yeah, it's kind of raunchy. Not going to lie, I kind of like that about this place. Still, it's not this particular business that I'm talking about. I'm talking about this more generally."

"No, I get it. If people with power actually fought to bring this to public attention, we might be able to shift society's views on it."

"Yeah! Like an entire movement, you know? I'm against rape as much as the next guy, but how can they look at pokémon and tell me that they aren't intelligent enough to consent? Some pokémon literally speak our language!"

Nino chuckled. _Truthfully, I'm still not a hundred percent sure about that. Just because pokémon often have different rituals and stuff surrounding mating and sex. Even if they can say yes, if they don't fully understand all the implications, things get blurry._

"You don't seem convinced." Lucas said. "Nah, you wouldn't be. Still figuring it out, right? Don't worry. It's a hard thing to do."

Nino sighed. "If there were more research on it…"

"Yeah, unfortunately, people won't touch the topic with a twenty-nine-and-a-half-foot pole yet. Just got to do our best. But even if relationships are a sticky point, because of culture, something like this… do you see any pokémon unhappy with this?"

"No." Nino answered honestly. "I don't. But I haven't seen everything."

"You'll never see everything."

"No. You're right. I just mean I'm always going to be cautious."

"Good. Stay cautious. It's a good quality for someone like us. Keeps us careful, aware. Both for hiding, and for the pokémon."

Nino sighed. _Yeah. Suppose so._

Lucas laughed. "Sorry about that. I get kind of enthusiastic about that stuff. Did you have any other questions?"

"A few. How do so many people get in and out of here without being noticed?"

"Oh, there's more than just one entrance to this place. Heck, I'm pretty sure there are a few upper members only entrances, but main thing is there's the one you came in, there's one near the tide wall, and there's one pretty close to central city."

"This place extends that far?" _If this place really is that big, there's no way I'll be able to search it all. I need someone who knows where to look._

"Parts of it, yeah. This is the main structure, and most of the rest is built vertically, but you probably didn't notice that we aren't where you entered from, huh?" _Not where I entered from?_ "Once you've come a few times they'll tell you about the entrances. They try to limit the super new people since y'all are the most likely to rat us out. But really, the building you walked into to get here is a couple miles that way." Lucas gestured over his shoulder. "We're actually closest to the tide wall entrance, as the crow flies. It's all so they can shut down an entrance and keep the rest of the place hidden."

Nino hummed. "Clever. It was the elevator, then?"

"Mhmm. You had to have realized it was a long ride."

"I did. Didn't realize we were moving sideways, though."

"People rarely do."

 _That means the others aren't as close as we thought they'd be. And this doesn't sound like very normal information for people to have, or care about really._ "You know a lot about this place."

Lucas laughed. "Try not to read into it."

 _That only makes me suspicious. Still, maybe it's best to let it lie, at least until I ask a few more questions._ "I was wondering, the guy who showed me the place mentioned that there are laboratories here?"

"Oh, yeah. Place has its own doctors for the pokémon. Make sure everyone's clean. Do research into STDs especially, but more generally into a bunch of stuff that normal scientists wouldn't touch."

"Where's all that happening?"

"Oh, dude, that's on the lower floors."

"There's more?"

"Yeah."

"The elevator only had one button."

Lucas smiled. "Sharp eye. That's the main elevator. It accesses most of the floors, but the one it goes to depends on the card swiped. You've got a silver card, so it brings you here. The other elevators have more options. Gold members can take the main one to their floor, or they can take the gold elevator to here if they feel like slumming it, for example."

"How do you know this stuff?"

"Told you, kid. I've been here a while. Despite the secrecy, they aren't that bad if you just ask questions. Now, I never got the actual floor of the labs, but I do know that it's not accessible by the normal elevators. If you keep an eye out, you'll see scientists coming and going from the staff elevator down that hallway." Nino followed Lucas' finger to the hallway he came from.

"I didn't see a staff elevator."

"Behind one of those employees only doors. The one the hosts use all the time. It's how they get between here and the upper member floors."

"I don't believe you learned that just by asking."

Lucas laughed. "What? I said I keep an eye out. If I'm going to give a place like this my money, I'm making sure they're on the up-and-up."

Nino smirked. "You snooped."

"Guilty as charged. Didn't touch nothing, so as I see it, it doesn't really matter."

"Why tell me that?" Nino tapped the railing nervously. "You could have just said you don't know where the labs are."

"Because I know you ain't here for the fun of it and believe it or not I don't want this place shut down." Lucas said casually. Nino almost choked on his own spit. _How did he know? How much does he know?_ "Don't worry, kid. I'm no snitch. If you want to snoop around, that's your business. But if you find something, well that's my business too. It's a good place. If someone somewhere in the bureaucracy is doing something bad, I want to cut it out, not kill the whole thing, understand?"

"How'd you know?"

"You probably thought you wouldn't be recognized, huh? You are probably the best candidate. No offence. You don't stand out much. But I remember you on your noivern against that salamence."

"Oh."

"Yeah. A kid like you from Lumiose wouldn't come to Shalour to find a place like this just because you're 'curious'. There's something going on, isn't there?"

 _How much can I trust him? My cover's blown, but if he doesn't know exactly why I'm here, I should probably keep it that way._

"Again, kid, I'm not concerned one way or another why you're here. If you're on another vigilante kick or if you're chasing after the mega guy… It doesn't change my place in this. But I have an interest in keeping this place running, and you already admitted you considered reporting us. Now that you've got a good look, you could take this place down in a heartbeat. Assuming you don't mind your own rep getting smeared, at least.

"But I think you would report us. And I think your friends would, too. So, I want to excise anything that gives you reason to. Because you wouldn't if it was just this, right? You'd tell your friends to back off?"

Nino worried his lip. Lucas sounded almost hopeful. "Honestly, I haven't decided."

Lucas nodded. "Of course. It's your decision, ultimately. But when you make that decision, think about me, yeah?" Nino nodded uncertainly. "And can you tell me something? I understand if you're trying to be discrete or whatever, but… are you here because you think there's something going on, or just because you don't trust a place like this?"

Nino met his gaze. He didn't think he could lie. Lucas just seemed too earnest. _And would that really give too much away? Just knowing that we suspect something? Even if he worked for Gabriel, I don't think Gabriel would learn anything just from that._ "Yeah. We think something's happening." He said.

"Can you tell me what it is?" Nino furrowed his brow. _I don't know that I can trust him. I want to, but I just don't know._ "I can help." Lucas said. "I know this place pretty well, even some of the off-limits areas. If I know what you're looking for, I can help you get there quickly and quietly."

"Why would you help me?"

"I told you. I want this place running."

"But you don't know I won't report you."

"I do know that if you're here, your friends probably are too. And if your friends are here and you get caught, they'll rain hellfire on this place to rescue you. Basically, if you get caught, there's no choice to make. We're going down. Therefore, it's in my interest to make sure you get through here without being noticed." Nino hummed doubtfully. "You don't trust me."

"How could I?" Nino asked. "I'm not stupid."

"What is it? Do you think I'm working for someone? That I'll try to stop you from investigating?"

"Maybe." He frowned, considering his options. "You clearly know too much for just some random guy. About this place and about me."

Lucas nodded thoughtfully. "If I tell you how I know so much about the place, will you believe me?"

"Depends on what I hear."

"I'm an architect. Truth be told, this place is my baby."

"I don't believe you. Why would you just be hanging out here, if that were true? Why wouldn't you be allowed in the back areas?"

"I designed the building, I'm not part of the staff. I'm technically independent and prefer it that way. Besides, I don't want to be one of those platinum members. Things are much more interesting down here. I hang around because I'm still contracted to make expansions sometimes, and because, you probably guessed, I'm someone who makes use of the facilities.

"You're right I'm no ordinary visitor. Ain't treated like one either, no matter what I do to put a stop to that. But designing a building doesn't give me free reign over it." Nino was still skeptical. The odds of running into the architect of the place, and that he'd recognize Nino on sight, was a little too unlikely for his taste. "What doesn't check out to you?"

"Even if I accept that that's how you know about this place." _Admittedly he seems to know a lot more about the structure of the building than exactly what each room is used for. Knows about the floors, but not which ones the labs are on, for example._ "Why would you care about me? Not about why I'm here, but why would you recognize who I am?"

"I know it's not a super satisfying answer, but I'm really into politics. Follow the news religiously. Lumiose was a huge story for a long time, and pictures of your entire class spread like wildfire. Not many kids like you. I wanted to know what else you'd do, so I've been following it."

"What else would we do? We just wanted to keep our friends safe."

"Your generation is a lot more progressive than the ones making the laws." Lucas said. Nino saw that he was beginning to get excited and considered cutting him off, but he couldn't. "With you being so prominent in people's minds, I kind of hoped… well, yeah. Hoped you'd turn activists. Bring about some real change."

"That wasn't what we were doing."

"I know." Lucas sighed. "But a guy can hope, right? I don't blame you, of course. You've already been through more than you should have, and clearly it isn't even over, but if you guys wanted to, you could change Kalos. It's a lot to put on some kids, but you guys have more than proven capable of handling it."

"Why don't you go out as an activist, if it matters so much to you."

Lucas chuckled. "I do. You just haven't heard because we haven't managed to get any real momentum yet. Plus, I can't be the face of something like that, if that's what you mean. Black money or not, I designed a facility for a place dedicated to letting pokémon and humans love freely. I'm not becoming a puppet to industry."

"Are you really that jaded, or do you just not think you can be the face of a movement?"

Lucas snickered. "Little of A, little of B. Listen, I'm not a kid anymore. Change needs to come from the youth, not old men like me."

"You're like, thirty."

"Pfft, thanks kid. Thirty-eight, actually. I could quite literally be your dad. I'm always here to help out, but the real change needs to be from your generation."

Nino took a moment to think about that. _Would that even be something we'd do, once this is all over? I'd never considered trying something like that, but he's right that we have a pretty unique platform._

 _Alya would be all over it. In fact, thinking about it, Alya would probably love this whole place. Assuming one thing, of course._ "Did you really think we'd be activists after the fighting ended?"

"Honestly? Kind of thought something was going on between the Chat Noir kid and his zoroark. Then there was the whole controversy over your classmate… what's her name? Kind of goth looking kid. And her pink girlfriend." _Juleka and Rose._ "You guys are clearly okay with same-sex relationships, so I hoped you'd think the same of ones between humans and pokémon."

"Speaking of." Nino said. _Alya would be pissed with me if I didn't ask._ "Why is this place so straight?" Lucas blinked dumbfounded for a moment and burst out laughing. "Seriously!" Nino insisted. "I'd think in a place like this, we'd see more gay stuff."

"Haha, by the Hideaway rules of conduct, gay stuff is totally okay. It's only so straight because at the moment there aren't any hosts that agree to service same-gender visitors. We had one once, but even then, the straight stuff just kind of overpowers it. I'm sure you'll find more than a couple non-straight folk in here, but since so many of us are straight you're not super likely to find a partner, if that's what you're looking for. Without any hosts, and not much opportunity among visitors, at least compared to say, gay bars up top for strictly human pairs, the gay community just never really found a foothold down here."

"That's disappointing."

Lucas laughed even more. "What, you were hoping?"

"Not me. I'm ace. Just thinking a friend would like the atmosphere. Sleeping around is a different matter entirely, but she wouldn't stand for it if you guys were homophobic."

"Hmm. I'll be honest, you'll find those people down here, too. But most of us wouldn't say anything. We always say pokémon are capable of consent. If we said people weren't capable of consenting just because their partner is the same gender then we'd need a few screws tightened in our brains. And if consent wasn't the reason people are down here, they don't belong here anyway."

Nino laughed. "Good."

"Can I ask, what do your friends think of this? Pokephilia, I mean, not the Hideaway."

"I'm not sure I should say."

"I just want to know how likely it is one of you will rat us out."

"None of us will make the call unilaterally. We'll talk to each other first. Does that help?"

"It does." Lucas sighed. "Means I just have to convince you. So, come on. Maintenance pathways are built all through this place. With your ditto, getting in will be no problem. From there, I can show you how things work."

Lucas backed up off the wall, leading the way to the hallway Nino had yet to explore. "Hold on." Nino said. "I still haven't decided if I should trust you."

"Like you said, you're not stupid." Lucas shrugged. "And neither am I. You have some way of letting your friends know what's going on, right? So, the moment I try anything to hurt you or stop you, this whole organization comes down. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't do anything." Nino hesitated. "Look, I've told you everything. If you still don't believe me, you can go and investigate on your own, but I want to help if I can."

"Alright." Nino said. "You can help."

"Really?"

"Sure. I could use someone who knows the place."

"Does that mean you'll tell me the whole situation, or…"

 _Would Alya trust him? Marinette? What if this is a mistake? What if I screw up the whole mission because of this?_

 _No. Alya trusts you. She said so in Reflection Cave. It's not about doing things safe, it's about me. I should trust myself as much as she does. And I want to trust him._

"I'll tell you on the way."

"Awesome. First stop, host habitation. Come on." Lucas led the way to another door marked "employees only" and told Nino to let Ditto get the lock. Once they were inside the dimly lit hallway, Lucas locked the door behind them. "Most, though not all, hosts are actually technically owned by various staff, and have similar hours to their trainer. While the facility itself is open twenty-four seven, the hosts obviously don't work those hours. Most have an eight or so hour shift, and of course the doctors on site take care of any health care they need. Really, they're pretty pampered. Watch your step." Nino cautiously began his descent down the stairway that they had come to. "So, what really brings you here?"

"I'm looking for my friend."

"Your pal's missing?"

"Chat Noir."

"Oh. Right, his dad was the one behind everything, right?"

"Partly, at least. Chat Noir went after him three months ago. You might've seen the story."

"I remember. Adrien Agreste. Some people started speculating he was in on it."

"Ridiculous, obviously. He went after his dad to find answers. To ask why. But he didn't come back, so we're going to find him."

"And how does the Hideaway factor in? Surely your friend didn't come here."

"We think he did, actually. And if he didn't, his dad definitely had dealings here."

"Really? Never heard of Agreste being part of this operation. Then, don't hear the names of a lot of the important people who visit."

"While we were looking, we found a ledger. It was of host appointments. The one I had to sign at the desk in front of the main elevator."

Lucas whistled. "Where on earth did he get that? Those things aren't supposed to leave this facility. They're burned after a few years, to make place in the storeroom."

"Storeroom?"

"Just filing. Mostly those ledgers. You were probably told, it's just so they can keep track of who's done who so if anything comes up they can resolve it quickly. Unless someone's putting a book in there or a scientist requests one, that room stays locked."

"The scientists here have access to them?"

"Them and the secretaries."

"Is there a process for a scientist who wants access to one?"

"Well, yeah. Of course. They'd have to file a request, and get it approved by the management. My understanding is that they almost never ask for them, but most requests from the scientists are approved basically automatically. You think one of them is behind that ledger?"

"It's possible."

"We should check the storeroom, then. If they followed protocol, there should be a card in its place that will tell us who checked it out. If they didn't… well then, we know it's shady. But if you remember the dates in it, it shouldn't be difficult to find where it's supposed to be."

"I do, actually. Where's the storeroom?"

"Further down. We'll go there after we see the host quarters."

"Good."

They approached a door and Lucas slowed to a stop. "It's through here." He spoke in a whisper. "Any way to tell if anyone's through there?"

Nino scanned the doorframe, and glanced to the ceiling, where Misdreavus was poking her face in. "Just a moment." He said. "Misdreavus, could you please?"

Lucas looked up just as Misdreavus disappeared. "Ah, so that's how. Clever. I'll have to keep ghosts in mind next time." Nino raised an eyebrow. Lucas chuckled. "When you design underground stuff like this, security is usually on your employer's mind. Honestly didn't think a ghost would come this far underground without knowing for sure there was something down here. It followed you, right? Told them they should've redone the entrances. Used already standing buildings for them. Couldn't build in protections against stuff like that since they were already there to start." He shook his head. "Sloppy."

Misdreavus reappeared and gave them the go-ahead, so Lucas opened the door and they both stepped into the next hallway. Another minute and the process was repeated for the room itself. _Woah._ Nino thought. _Fancy._ The entire place seemed designed for pokemon. There were a variety of beds for a variety of body sizes and shapes, there were toys – regular, not adult-oriented toys – and even a soft-looking mat that Lucas said the hosts could wrestle on. "There's a battlefield, too, if they want to train. The Hideaway doesn't hold battles, so there's never any trainer orders, but there is always someone to watch them, from what I've heard."

 _Food, water, entertainment, space, all of good quality it looks like, too. They really are kind of pampered._

"What do you think?" Lucas asked.

"Looks like they're comfortable, as far as this is concerned."

"Yep. They did a good job here. And if the hosts want some privacy, there are individual rooms just down that hallway. This is kind of their living room."

"Hmm. Interesting."

"But this isn't what you want to see, is it?"

"It's comforting, a little." Nino said. "But I could tell the hosts were well taken care of when I saw the houndoom they set me up with."

"Ah, Sela. She's a good one."

"Dude, ew."

"I meant her personality." Lucas shook his head and opened the door to the hallway again.

"Point is, I know how to tell if a pokémon is healthy by looking at it. All obvious signs were pointing to this." Nino followed him back into the maintenance pathway.

"What did you get from Sela as far as whether she consented?"

"She… seemed willing. More than me."

"Do you really think pokémon can't consent?"

"It's not that so much as it is I'm not convinced they fully understand what dating means in our culture, and vice versa. I've known pokémon who could communicate fluently with us, so I know how smart they are."

"Hm."

"I'm sure they _can_. But laws aren't made on what a few pokémon or people achieve. If the vast majority of them can't, then we'll end up with people taking advantage of the pokémon. No?"

"I get it. This pokémon you know, who can communicate clearly with you, have you ever asked them about it?"

"No. And I wouldn't base my beliefs on that response, either. He wasn't exactly the healthiest. Mentally, I mean."

"Have you ever asked your own pokémon?"

Nino hesitated. _I haven't._ "No."

"Maybe you should. Communication is something people like us have to work on. If we don't have ways to talk clearly to each other then we'll always run the risk of abuse. Likewise, we need to know how to listen. But I think if you'd take the time to listen, you'd see what I mean." _Maybe I should. Honestly, until now it's kind of weirded me out so I didn't think about it much. I knew that given consent I couldn't have a principled position against it, of course, but I've always stayed pretty neutral otherwise._ "Anyway, let's get to the storeroom. Why would the ledger be out of the facility? Who had it? Agreste?"

"Yeah. Adrien's dad. Well, he hid it, to be more accurate. We found it while we were looking for evidence of where Adrien went. Given how much effort was put into keeping it hidden, and the emails we found from Gabriel to this place, it was our obvious next stop."

"Emails? Who was he contacting?"

"We don't know. Far as we could tell it was a business email for the massage parlor cover."

Lucas frowned. "What did the emails talk about?"

"Some sort of deal. We think Gabriel bought something. He said the money had been sent, and mentioned he'd meet with someone to renegotiate the prices."

"Which means it wasn't a one-time deal."

"Exactly."

"That is fishy. No transactions should be taking place outside this facility, much less by email. If Gabriel was making an appointment with a host he'd have to have done it through the regular process. And the cover email is barely used. There's not even a website or anything and they don't print it on your cards either so most people don't even know it exists. Heck, I only even know about it because it was being used while I was designing this place. It's how they set up the cover in the first place, and then they kind of let it die."

"Who would have access to the email?"

"If they knew about it, anyone with authorization for the internal computers. Strictly speaking they operate on their own grid. Shouldn't be online at all. If someone's using that email, they're breaking the rules."

"They couldn't log in on a personal computer?"

"It's possible, I guess, but they'd need the original password. Far as I know, that'd be near impossible to get."

"Why's that?"

"Because no one cares. It's not written down, and I'd be real surprised if the guy who made it remembers it after all this time. Unless you connected these computers to the internet and updated the account, the password would've stayed how it was when this place went off the grid. So, yeah, they could've sent the email from a personal computer, but they would've needed to get the ones here online to do it in the first place."

"And that would be bad."

"Big time. Whoever did this clearly doesn't care about this place. Even the visitors are super careful about this kind of thing. Only tell those we know to be like-minded, only ones we trust, no speaking about this place above ground and especially not online. It's not perfect, of course, but it's good enough that anyone who does say something usually just looks like a conspiracy theorist. Because, you know, even they're not going to the police. They'd get arrested too."

"Not to mention taking a list of visitors out of the Hideaway."

"Yeah." Lucas bit his lip. "That means more than just the Hideaway is in danger; it's all the visitors too. We really need to find out which book that was."

Nino hurried after Lucas, who had started walking somewhat fast. _He's nervous. This is surprising to him, too, and he's scared that this place isn't what he thought it was._ "Hey, Lucas? You said the books are just packed away, right?"

"They're supposed to be."

"Why would someone circle a name in one?"

"I don't know. They aren't supposed to mark entries after they're made. Why? Who's name was circled?"

"Several, actually. The most recent ones in the book we found were Showers and Sable."

Lucas froze in his tracks. "Showers and Sable?"

"That means something to you?"

"They were hosts. Retired last year. I thought they just got tired out."

"Went back to their trainers? Staff, right?"

"No, actually. I said most hosts are technically owned by staff, but a few come from other places. Some visitors, even some wild. Those two were technically wild." They started moving again.

"I see. That's not good."

"No. It's not. And now I'm starting to think you and your friends are the least of my worries if I want to keep this place open."

"You think something happened to them?"

"I'm not assuming anything yet. The storeroom is just ahead. This door leads into another hallway, and the storeroom is at the end of the hall. Not often there's people down here, but Misdreavus should check to be safe."

"Misdreavus." Nino looked to the pokémon and waited for her signal. "Let's go." They crept out of the maintenance access and approached the door to the storeroom. "Card access only? Ditto, can you get through?"

Ditto turned back into it's normal form, perching on Nino's arm, and pressed up onto the lock. After a moment, it just slipped between the door and doorframe and pushed in the lock physically. Lucas laughed. "I used to do that with credit cards."

"Do I even want to know?" Nino asked.

"No. Suffice it to say you're a better kid than I was."

Nino snorted and opened the door.

Inside were filing cabinets along the walls and spaced out evenly across the floor. On one wall was a tall shelf filled with thick, wine-colored books. Two more shelves off the wall were filled with green ones, and a small section of the shelving was reserved for blue ones. "What date was your book?" Lucas asked.

"It included last September. Stood out to me because it was the one for the time the Lumiose attacks were happening."

"Fuck. It just gets worse, doesn't it? What color was it?"

"I think it went to the end of the year. And, uh, red."

"Found it." Lucas crouched in front of a conspicuously empty space between two other identical books. "Thought so. No card. Also, these are the gold member books. Hold on." He moved over to the green shelves and ran a finger along a few spines before picking one to pull off the shelf. "No." He put it back, took the one next to it, and pointed to one of the entries within. "Yeah. Whoever took that book only took the one for the gold members. The same dates in the silver membership books are still here."

"What does that mean?"

"Don't know, yet, but we'll find out. Anything else you noticed about the book? Anything that could help?"

Nino racked his brain. _Someone after me found something, right? I think it was Juleka. Something about the circled names._ "The circled host names." Nino said. "I'm pretty sure they were only circled with particular visitors. Um… Muldooney?"

Lucas bit his thumb in thought. "Don't recognize the name. If it was specific visitors, it's possible they just have the habit of circling the name when they request a host."

"But you don't buy that."

"I hope that, but no, I don't buy it." Lucas put the book back and stood. "Any ideas?"

"The gold membership is a much more limited group of people than the silver members. That narrows down suspects as to people in on whatever's happening. What can you tell me about Showers and Sable?"

"Showers was a great girl. Popular, but happy to please. One of those hosts who's down with pretty much anything."

"Lucas. Not what I meant."

He laughed softly. "Hah, sorry. Point is, people liked her. She's a vaporeon. Brought in by a visitor initially because she was a lot to handle. Promiscuous puts it lightly, to say the least. But the visitor couldn't handle the bureaucracy with her working here, so they just released her and she ended up staying here permanently.

"Sable came in on his own. Still not totally sure how he found his way down here, but he just showed up one day in the common room and uh, partook. A staff member found him, and he ended up staying here. He's a sableye. Wild pokémon don't tend to have great nicknames here. Not top priority, let's say."

"Hold on. Vaporeon and sableye?"

"Yeah. Why? Does that mean something?"

"Oh, fuck."


	8. Jay and Jade

"I'm sorry," Lucas said, "you found what?"

"I told you already."

"I know, but the words you said didn't make sense."

Nino groaned. "We found a pokémon. It looked a sableye and vaporeon had been fused somehow. And its abilities, as far as we saw, made sense if that's the case."

"Is that even possible? To fuse two different, living beings?"

"We think so. H-1 seems like pretty convincing evidence."

"And you think that this… H-1 is Showers and Sable?"

"It would make sense, wouldn't it? Their names are circled in the ledger, and not long after, they leave the Hideaway. Has anyone seen them since then?"

Lucas fought for his words, gaping like a magikarp. "Well… no, but… why? Why our hosts?"

Nino sighed and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back to rest on the wall as well. "I don't know. But remember, if Gabriel's involved, and he almost definitely is since H-1 was in his basement, the deals he was making with someone here are still happening. Or they were a few months ago. We need to find evidence of what was going down. From what my friend told me, I don't think they could have gotten by on only hosts for their tests. As far as Showers and Sable are concerned, I think they're more the exception than the rule, but the fact is pokémon were being put into that, and might still be, and someone here may be involved."

"I don't like this."

"No one does, dude. But you said Showers and Sable were both wild, right? Have any other wild hosts retired recently? Just the last, like, six months?"

"A few." Lucas said. "In fact, most have. I didn't think much of it because the wild hosts tend to come and go as they please, but yeah."

"Then as far as hosts go, they're probably only taking the wild ones. Ones that won't be missed so much. Even with that I'm sure it spreads beyond here."

"But… why the hosts? Why here?"

"You have an underground, illegal laboratory, and easy access to a variety of strong, healthy pokémon. You can do the math."

"I…" Lucas' expression hardened. "I'm going to stop it."

"We are, you mean. My friend is on the line here. If we screw up, we might not find another lead. If we can't find another lead, we may have just killed the stem and left the roots alive. You need to calm down."

Lucas shook his head. "Being talked to like this from a freakin' kid." He sighed. "But you're right. We have to be careful. What's the plan?"

"The laboratories. If pokémon were taken from here, there's a chance the experiment itself was done here. Any idea where it could have been done?"

Lucas paced restlessly in front of Nino. "Just a couple. Again, I'm not sure exactly what floors they're using as the laboratories. I never made it that far into this place after it was running. But I have a few places in mind, all on the deeper levels obviously. It'll be harder to get to than just running through maintenance tunnels, though."

"Of course it will be."

"They do tests on viruses and other diseases. Those labs will be effectively quarantined. That means no tunnels, no place to hide, probably lots of security – automated, but still."

"So what do we do?"

"There's no way we get in there now. Not while the scientists are still working. Best chance is wait until nightfall and hope for the best."

"I can't just sit around until then." Nino groaned. _I can't stay down here that long. The others are probably already getting worried._ "Can we get to, like, the executive offices or something? I want to know how much the people in charge know. Or the gold member areas. It was a gold member ledger taken, so maybe we'll find some reason why."

"With Ditto and Misdreavus? I can get you to both places. Come on. The gold floor is actually really close." Lucas started off down the maintenance tunnel. "I never imagined something like that was going on in the Hideaway."

"Good thing for you, the quieter it is, the easier time we'll have cutting it out without disrupting the rest of the operation."

Nino caught Lucas' glance and furrowed brow. "You want to try to keep this place running? I thought after knowing this you'd definitely…"

"I knew most of it coming in here." Nino said. "Or suspected. All I didn't suspect was how this place was run, and that only helps your case."

"You wouldn't get any praise for helping, you know. It's not like Lumiose. No one who cares will know, and if anyone found out you definitely wouldn't be a hero."

"I never wanted to be a hero. None of us did. Honestly, I'd much prefer it if I could just go back to school with my friends and stop these dumb adventures."

"Ah." Lucas was quiet for a while. "Thank you."

"That's not to say I've decided." Nino clarified. "I'm not making any decision like that without talking to my friends, regardless of what I think. But if we don't take out the bad stuff silently, there won't be a decision to make. What I've seen has gotten me to doubt enough that I think you deserve that deliberation at least."

"Thank you." Lucas repeated. "You probably don't understand how important this place is to our community. I was… hesitant to tell you, though you probably guessed, because if you knew how big this place was, you might have seen it as an opportunity. But this place is basically the center of the community in Kalos. There's no other place like it – especially not so reputable. I know it probably looks like just sex, but… it's a place we don't hide in. Where we're not afraid our best friends, sometimes partners, will be taken from us."

Nino looked at the dull concrete passing beneath his sneakers. "I know a similar feeling." He said. "And I could tell, just from being here. Only really talked to you and the houndoom. Sela, you said her name was? But both of you have that same vibe. I know that vibe. It's a good one. Comfortable and fearless. It's a vibe I try my best to encourage."

"You're a good kid, Nino." Lucas smiled at him before returning his focus to the passing hallway. "Gold floor is just up here. Any idea what we're looking for?"

"Evidence that gold members, or the staff from this area, have something to do with the missing ledger. Anything linking this floor to everything going on."

"Not very specific, but I guess it can't be helped. Pretty sure we won't find anything, though. Not exactly an expert on the upper members, but if it's run anything like it is upstairs there's not going to be much to go on just by searching the floor. And your friend came here what, couple months ago? Anything he'd have left would be long gone by now."

Nino frowned. "Probably, but it all depends on how things played out."

"What do you mean?"

"Something's been bothering me. We're almost positive Adrien came here, but even if he found everything we did pointing to this place, and managed to find the entrance, what did he do here?"

"Let loose?"

Nino grunted. _Not the image I wanted in my head but hey, if anyone deserves it._ "Somehow, I doubt it."

"Well the kid has a zoroark, doesn't he? He could slip past anyone unseen if he wanted."

"Yes, but he wouldn't know the layout of this place. He wouldn't know where the lab is, or even where this floor is."

"All new members sign in at least once. For the free appointment. If he went through the front, his name would be in one of the ledgers. Want to go back to the storeroom and look?"

"For one name in a three month period? How many appointments would that be sorting through?"

"Depends how busy the place was. One and a half books max. Most likely no more than like three fourths of one."

Nino sighed. "We probably should. I can't imagine Adrien could sneak through the entrance, even with his zoroark. And so long as you have the tap code, they don't seem particularly concerned about who you are."

"True enough. Again, people here are friendly. They're happy to meet a new member of the community and want to make the process as painless as possible so you'll come back. And with the whole elevator shenanigans going on over there, it's hard to get by without someone noticing."

"Exactly. So if he managed to get here, he'd be in the book."

Lucas snapped his fingers. "Or in the system."

"What?"

"It'd be faster than looking through the books. If we can swipe a staff card, we can log into one of the computers and go through the member database. It'd be simple as typing in a name."

"Assuming he didn't use an alias."

"They check your ID. Can your friend make fake IDs?"

Nino thought about it. "He probably could call someone to get one, but with him taking off after his dad I don't think he'd stop to wait for it. It's possible he prepared one before leaving, though."

"Hmm. Any idea of potential aliases?"

"I don't think Chat Noir is a valid name, so not really."

"Well, if it comes to it and we don't run out of time, we'll look at when new members joined and read through the list real quick, yeah? See if anything jumps out at you."

"That works for me. How do get on the computer?"

"Oh, that's easy. Come on." Lucas led Nino down the tunnel to another door. "Once we're in the hallway, there's a break room a couple rooms down. Since it's the gold floor, things are a little more relaxed. More likely than not we'll find an access card right there. Only catch is we will need a constant lookout. So if your buddies can go without updates for a few minutes, we should be fine."

"And if there's no access card?"

Lucas grinned. "Then we steal one."

Nino took a deep breath. "Alright. On your mark."

"Misdreavus? Should be three doors down, on your left. Make sure the room is clear before we get out of here."

Misdreavus, who had recently come back from her most recent update, vanished where she floated. A minute or so later, she reappeared right in Nino's face, giggling happily, telling them the way was clear.

They slipped out of the maintenance passage and into the hallway proper. Unlike the floor above, the gold floor had much more extravagant décor. The white walls had gilded baseboards and crown molding in place of the simple black baseboards of the silver floor. The only decoration on the upstairs walls were a thick silver-grey stripe and darkened patches from people touching it too often. On the gold floor, paintings and mirrors hung about, giving the place a much more classy feel. There were even hall tables and potted plants to liven the place, and in Nino's opinion it was a good thing because it needed livening up. The other main difference between floors was not décor at all but atmosphere. It was so quiet and still as he crept down the hall that he began to feel paranoid. _I hate to admit it, but I kind of prefer people basically having sex in the hallway. This is almost creepy. What people use this area? And there's another level below this, too. Platinum membership. What kind of place is that, I wonder? Maybe Lucas will know. But that's a question for when we're in the clear again._

In the staff room, more similar to the ones upstairs than the hallway was, Nino and Lucas made a beeline for the computer in the corner. "Shit." Lucas said. "No card."

"Where can we get one?"

"Front desk. They keep extras in case someone forgets theirs. If we can swipe one of those, no one will notice before we put it back."

"How do we get past the secretary?"

Lucas worried his lip for a moment before ushering Nino back into the hall and back into the maintenance hall. "Alright, I have a plan. Can Ditto transform into a host?"

"My friend told me its better with objects than pokémon."

"Hmm. Can I see? Can it do a male arcanine?" Nino shrugged and asked Ditto to try, backing up to make space on the ground between them. When Ditto finished its transformation, Nino could clearly see what Joshua meant. The stripes were irregular and odd-looking, the eyes were too small for its head, the teeth too large, the paws too big, and the tail too small. "Ah, yeah, okay. That won't work."

Nino laughed despite himself. "Don't worry, buddy. You did your best." Ditto transformed back into its true form and attached itself to Nino's arm. He gave it a gentle pat. "We'll find another way." He looked at Lucas. "What was your plan, anyway?"

"One of the hosts here, Rex, an arcanine, regularly asks random people to play with him. And I do mean play. It's not an innuendo. He could probably pull the secretary away if he wanted."

"I see. So what's the backup plan?"

"I have a few ideas, but let's case the place first. It'll be easier if I know who we're working with." Lucas led the way to another door through which the front desk for the gold floor was just around the corner. Nino peered around it, feeling Lucas leaning over him to do the same, and watched the bored young man with his feet up on the desk. "He's listening to music." Lucas whispered. "Awesome. Misdreavus, can you do it? The card could be in that third drawer from the bottom. Hit his volume and act quickly if you need to."

Misdreavus nodded and vanished. Nino watched as the drawer Lucas had indicated slowly, silently, slid open. The keycard floated out, and dropped to the ground. As the drawer slid shut, it stuck for a moment and let out a faint squeak. "Shit!" The receptionist exclaimed, juggling his music player after throwing it up in surprise. Before he managed to find the volume button to relieve his ears, Misdreavus had used the distraction to shut the drawer completely, grab the keycard, and return to Nino and Lucas.

"Great job, girl." Nino whispered.

"You can say that again." Lucas said, taking the card and leading the way back to the break room. "Now, this should only take a second." He inserted the card into the slot of the terminal wired to the computer and started clicking away. "Here we go. Membership database. Repeat the name for me?"

"Adrien Agreste."

"…Agreste." Lucas clicked the mouse with finality. "Nothing came up. Might've had an alias after all. Let's see if I can sort by date." He fiddled with the program for a moment before the list reappeared in temporal order. He scrolled down to November. "Anything stand out?"

 _Fernand, Delilah, Hargrove, Michael, Garret… nothing I can think of, but that shouldn't be surprising._ "No." _If he's really not there, then he never made it here. We could be missing an alias, but the chance he never found this place is pretty high, actually._ "Hey, Lucas? How do most people hear about this place? How do they find it?"

"Word-of-mouth. Exclusively, except for rare instances like you. As visitors we're expected to be discerning in who we tell about this place. It's for our own safety as much as the Hideaway's so it works pretty well." Lucas scrolled some more, but still nothing stood out to Nino. "But… presumably your friend found out the same way you did."

"Exactly. By following Gabriel's trail. The emails and the ledger led here."

"How'd you learn the tap code?"

"One of our friends knew someone in the ledger. She got it out of him."

"Would Adrien know the same guy?"

"Probably."

"Anyone else he might get that info from?"

"Not in the same way we did."

"You should see if you can't ask that guy if Adrien talked to him."

"That's what I was thinking. But I can't do it until we're done here. Hopefully we'll know by then anyway."

Lucas sighed. "Well, if Adrien didn't talk to your guy, how would he have tried to find us?"

"All we had to go on were the ledger and the emails. I honestly don't know what he'd do besides look for you on the internet."

"And it's not exactly easy to find us from there." Lucas tapped his chin. "Let me try something." He opened up the documents folder and typed in "Agreste". Nino's eyes widened when he saw two files.

"Agreste, Gabriel." Nino read.

"Look at the file chain." Lucas said, pointing to it on the screen. "Finance, donors, research, other."

"There's a file on Adrien, too."

"Different location. Strange, why would he be… oh. Kid, look at this."

Nino did as he was told. _Visitors, black._ "What's black?"

"It means he was a member. Like, past tense. Someone revoked his membership."

"Who can do that?"

"I'm… not sure. Maybe it'll say." Lucas opened Adrien's file and ran the mouse over the contents. None of the document names meant anything to Nino, though a few were self-evident, but it seemed that Lucas had a fair idea of what they were looking at. He picked one of the documents and opened it. The screen that popped up seemed like a summary of Adrien's file. "Look. Joined January fifteenth. Now you know exactly when he was here."

"That was only last month! We're closer than we thought."

"And it looked like he was blacklisted on the nineteenth. Doesn't say who authorized that, though."

"How do you get blacklisted? What kind of process is it?"

"I have no clue." Lucas seemed legitimately flabbergasted. "The entire concept is more a rumor among visitors than anything else. I figured there had to be a process like this in place, but I'd never heard of it actually happening. I'm not even sure what getting on the blacklist means to the Hideaway, or what they'd do about someone on it."

"Do you think someone might remember him? Could they tell us what happened?"

Lucas shook his head. "Our best bet would be the host that took care of him that first day. But I doubt you'd get anything useful from that talk. Hosts see a lot of people in a month so unless he pulled something crazy, he wouldn't really stick in her mind."

"Well he got blacklisted."

"That's true. But I never heard anything, and I was here last month, too. Something that big would have gotten people talking."

Nino sighed. "Who else is on the blacklist?"

"Don't know. Let's check." Lucas clicked the folder in the directory to get to where they wanted to be. "Heather Bowman, Chandler Glas, and Hubert Polk." Lucas furrowed his brow. "I don't recognize all the names, but Chandler was a fucked up dude. Didn't care much about consent. The Hideaway has a zero tolerance policy with that, so they kicked him out, but he just kept coming back. Lots of huff about it internally. He kept threatening to out us all. Said he'd tell the police about the place if they wouldn't let him back in. Everyone was terrified he'd follow through."

"What'd the Hideaway do?"

"Nothing, far as I know. Dude just disappeared one day. Everyone figured he'd blown his own head off or tried to rape the wrong pokémon or something and got what was coming to him. You don't think…"

"No." Nino said. "I don't think the Hideaway ordered he be taken out. But isn't it possible someone from here did?"

"I guess. We can't just assume something like that, though."

"No." Nino agreed. "Do you know the other two?"

"Afraid not."

"Darn. Doesn't give us much to go on."

"Not particularly. Let's see what this place has on Gabriel. Might give us a better idea of what's happening." He navigated back to Gabriel's folder, and picked some documents out of it to examine. "Weird."

"What is it?"

"This says that Gabriel donated a bunch of money and asked that it be used to fund the researchers."

"Specifically the researchers?"

"And not even the virologists. Looks like most of the money went straight to the evolutionary biology lab."

"You have an evolutionary biology lab? What does that even look like?"

"No clue. I didn't know there was one either." Lucas furrowed his brow and started clicking through some other folders.

"What are you looking for?"

"If there's an evolutionary biology lab here, there must be an evolutionary biologist to work there. The staff list should say."

Lucas opened a list of names with professions listed alongside them. It seemed like most of the researchers were virologists, but there were also a couple gynecologists, a urologist, a sexologist, and more. "Woah, hold on. There." Nino pointed out the single profession labelled evolutionary biologist. He traced the line back to the name. _That has to be a coincidence. There's no way._

"Lailah Keaton." Lucas read. _Keaton. She can't be related to Josh, can she?_ He navigated a few more windows. "Says she's studying coevolution of humans and pokémon, focusing on the purpose of interspecies intercourse."

"So she's studying why people and pokémon have sex with each other?"

"Apparently."

"How do you run experiments for that?"

"I think it's less specific than you think. But it's not important, and honestly, I don't really understand it either. What's important is that most of Gabriel's donations went basically straight to her. If whatever's going on has Gabriel's prints all over it, then she has to be connected."

"So we know where we need to go."

"Her lab. Yeah. Problem is, I don't know where it is." Misdreavus hurriedly called their attention, indicating that someone was coming. "Shit. We got to go." Lucas exited out of the many windows in a frenzy, then pulled the access card from the terminal. "Go, go, go."

The two entered the hallway just in time to see the receptionist walk around the corner. Nino was spun around by Lucas' hand on his shoulder. "Walk with purpose. You belong here." Lucas whispered, leading the way with a brisk, straight-spined strut.

Nino followed suit, and they walked down the hall until they heard a door shut behind them. Nino let out the breath he'd been holding. "Shit."

Lucas laughed. "Quick, before he comes back out." Nino ran after him back to the main area and the front desk, left unattended. "Perfect." He knelt down to put the card back, while Nino examined it.

The sleek wood desk was near identical to the one on the silver floor. The only real changes were the lavish decorations, the lack of a water feature in favor of a lobby behind it, and the red book instead of green. "Oh, shit." Nino said, looking at the book.

"What is it?" Lucas asked, standing to look as well.

Nino pointed to a couple names. "Host names are circled like in the book we found."

"Shit. Let me see. Jay and Jade? These are from just a few days ago! If someone's trying to make another fusion, we may be in time to save them! We need to go now."

"Hold on. It's that name again. Muldooney. Same person who circled Showers and Sable's names."

"So this Muldooney person is in on it, too. Wish we still had the computer."

"Nothing for it. What do you want to do?"

"Save Jay and Jade of course. Let's hurry." They managed to find their way back into the maintenance paths without any trouble, and it was there that Lucas continued. "Jay is an archeops."

Nino couldn't resist interrupting. "This place has an archeops? Those are super rare."

"Yeah. At one point they were entirely extinct. That's why Jay was super popular. That and he's one of the few birds – if you can call him a bird – that has a dick to start with. Very unique. Even the girls who have their niches give him a shot once or twice just because where else could they get that kind of opportunity? Thing is, no one could find him yesterday. It was a bit odd, especially since no one reported him leaving the place, but we figured he just wasn't in the mood. If it was something else though…"

"Why would they take such a popular pokémon? Wouldn't it be a bit obvious?"

"Showers was popular, too. I don't think that matters. What matters is that Jay isn't owned by any particular person. He's sort of the Hideaway staff's collective responsibility, and he doesn't have a pokéball. Nor does Jade."

"And what's her story?"

"She's a sceptile. Only showed up recently, but she's a sweetheart. I was actually kind of worried for her. Besides this shit, of course. I got the impression she was here for not exactly healthy reasons. Didn't have time to get the whole story, though. Just that she was released about a month ago, and joined up here about a week after that. She only worked for about a week before she left. I had hoped she went back to get her life back together, but… now I kind of doubt it."

Nino trained his eyes on his sneakers. "Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. Just… if that fusion shit is going on in the Hideaway, we need to find it."

"Of course." He shook his head and focused on the path in front of him. "So how do we find Lailah's lab?"

"Knowing what she does is a good tip. She studies the coevolution of pokémon and humans. I looked into her file a bit back there, and apparently she examines the hosts occasionally. Not as much as the urologist or gynecologists, obviously, but more than most researchers."

"And?"

"And if it's not a regular appointment, she'd need to get authorization from management."

Nino realized what Lucas was implying. "So, there should be paperwork somewhere."

"Exactly. The executive offices. There, we should find paperwork, which will hopefully tell us where to look. And if we're lucky, we can find out how much management really knows about all this."

On the way, Nino considered the situation. _What are the odds that Lailah is really Josh's mom? He said she was a scientist who studied evolution… so it would line up. But it couldn't be, right? It's just another woman with the last name Keaton who is an evolutionary biologist. Shit._ "Lucas. What do you know about Lailah?"

"Nothing. Again, I didn't even know we had an evolutionary biologist here. I don't talk to the scientists much anyway." Lucas looked him over. "You sound like you've heard the name."

"No. Not really. But I do have a friend. His last name is Keaton, too. Said his mom was a scientist."

"Damn. If she's the same person…"

"Yeah. I wish I could ask him."

"Man, you kids don't deserve all this shit you're going through." Nino looked over at him. _I agree, obviously, but it's nice someone else realizes how ridiculous this is._ "No offence, but you're too young for this place. You shouldn't be here in the first place, much less chasing a criminal and investigating freaking fusions. Kind of pisses me off that you're stuck doing all this."

"We have to."

"That's my point. You shouldn't need to. Us adults should be the ones handling all this." Lucas sighed, and mumbled the last part. "Another reason I couldn't leave well enough alone." The rest of the walk was in relative silence until Lucas indicated they had arrived. _My feet are getting tired. This is too much walking._ "The director's office is at the end of the hall." Lucas said. "Let's find those documents quickly so we can get to the lab."

"Agreed. Ready?"

"Yep. Let's go."

With Misdreavus' signal, they reached the director's office and snick inside. It was a quaint little place, the kind Nino thought his school principal would be at home in but not something he'd associate with an underground pokémon brothel director. Pictures of various pokemon and people were scattered around the office. The desk was neat, in a disorderly way. The kind of layout that one could find anything they're looking for, but they'll almost definitely need to be moving things out of the way to get it.

"You check the cabinet. I'll get the desk." Lucas said, beelining for the overflowing tray of papers on the desk.

Nino found the filing cabinet Lucas was indicating and opened it, with the help of Ditto picking the lock. _Alphabetized. Nice. By… department, looks like? Accounting… Host Management… actually, that might be something._ He opened the Host Management folder and rifled through the papers. _Just schedules, looks like. Hey, Jay. He was supposed to work today. And there's not even a schedule for Jade._

 _Whatever. What else? R and D. That's relevant. Here are requests for all sorts of stuff, but I don't see one from Lailah. Petri dishes, gloves… just basic supplies. Here… no, just rescheduling regular appointments._ "Ah." Nino said, pulling a paper out of the folder. "Here. Host examination request."

Lucas was at his side in a moment. "What's it say?"

Nino scanned the paper quickly. "Just that the host should be sent to lab five hundred nine."

Lucas grinned and patted Nino on the shoulder. "And that's a room number. Five hundred is the floor."

"Fifth floor?" Nino guessed.

"Yeah, fifth floor."

"How many floors are there?"

"Five. I'll go into more detail on the way. Check this out." Nino followed Lucas to the desk, where Lucas picked up a handwritten letter. Lucas pointed to a line in it. "And remember to keep an especially close eye on the wild hosts. We don't want to alarm them, but the quantity of wild hosts leaving us without notice is becoming increasingly concerning. I think it's time we launched an investigation into the matter. We cannot allow corruption to kill all we have built." He tapped the letter excitedly. "This is addressed to the chief of security. The director was starting a full investigation. She didn't know about it."

"That's good." Nino said. "Will you tell her about all of this?"

Lucas frowned. "I don't know. Maybe. I don't like getting involved with management, but if it'll help people, I'm not going to have a choice." He shook his head. "Let's get out of here. We can't do what we did on the gold floor if we get caught. We have the room number, and we have an idea of what the director knows. That's all we needed."

"Right. Lead the way." Once they had escaped from the executive offices, they found stairs and travelled down. "Why don't you like getting involved with management? Aren't you an architect? Wouldn't you be dealing with them all the time?"

"Yeah, that's exactly why I don't like dealing with them. The damn bureaucracy is infuriating. We don't have time to go through the proper channels when our hosts are at risk."

"Bureaucracy isn't all bad. It does keep things rational. Hard to do something rash if you need to go through a hundred step process to do it."

Lucas chuckled. "That's fair enough. Still, though. We don't know what Lailah's doing down there. Every minute could be life or death for Jay and Jade."

Nino nodded and kept his mouth shut. Nino wasn't exactly going to be talking to the director about these things either, so he didn't feel he had much place to say anything one way or another about it. Instead, he changed the topic. "You said there are five floors?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, technically there's more, but it's divided into five sections. There's the silver floor, which is three stories."

"Three?"

"Yep. We were just there, if you were keeping track. The third floor is mostly housekeeping stuff. Storage, washrooms, that kind of thing. Mostly cleaning. Since the silver floor needs cleaning the most, that's where most of the stuff is kept. The offices are also up there. Oh, and the silver floor is the only one that's multiple stories. The gold floor, the next one down, you've seen. Then there's the platinum floor. That's as far as I've ever gone just snooping around. Fourth floor is technically not actually under the other three. It's separated by an elevator like the one that brought you here. More a kart than an elevator, really, since it moves mostly horizontally. That's where I suspect most of the labs kept in quarantine are. It's kept separate – no stairs or anything – so that if any pathogen or virus or something gets out there's no danger to the rest of the facility. The scientists there are kind of screwed, but everyone else will be fine."

"Sounds like a fire hazard."

"No more than the rest of this place. There's lots of stuff around to put out fires, including water pokémon. Haven't burned down yet. Anyway, that's still just a guess. It's what makes sense to me, but I've never been in there. The fifth floor is a lot like the fourth, but with less stringent quarantine. It's kind of just a long hallway into the floor proper. Weirdly enough, it comes off the second floor. I know. Weird number scheme. It's because they're numbered in the order they were built, not corresponding to location."

"It comes off the gold floor."

"Yeah." Lucas paused. "Oh. Yeah." He sped up his pace just a little. "Let's hurry."

"How will we get into the fifth floor?" Nino asked. "You said it'd be impossible this time of day."

"Check your watch, kid." He did. _Eight o'clock. Shit, the others have to be worried by now._ "It's not the same time as it was. Besides, I was thinking mostly of places in the fourth floor. It would be the better place to hide something, since fewer people have access. And there's a few little storage rooms that could be repurposed if you were determined. The fifth floor is still not a walk in the park, but now that it's getting late, we don't need to worry about as many people. Besides, I'm not waiting a single second more than I have to if it means we can save Jay and Jade."

Nino nodded. "Okay. If you're certain we can make it."

"I am. Don't worry, kid."

As it happened, they did end up waiting for quite a long time. Once they reached the door they needed to take, they were forced to sit on their thumbs while Misdreavus watched for an opening. But people outside kept coming and going and Nino was fidgety and so was Lucas and the moment Misdreavus gave them the go-ahead they both practically sprinted out the door to the second floor.

"Through there." Lucas said, guiding Nino to a long hallway. Past a set of doors, the opulent second floor gave way to a much more clinical fifth floor. White walls and white linoleum and little decoration. They wandered through the halls, around corners, snuck under a window through which someone was still working diligently, and hid in storage closets until they found room 509. "Finally." Lucas said. He reached for the handle. "Ditto?" Nino held Ditto to the door to unlock it, and Lucas pulled it open.

Nino saw something fall, and his instincts took over. "Duck!" Nino grabbed Lucas and pulled him roughly to the ground, narrowly dodging the screeching creature that had flown at their heads.

"Hell, you're quick." Lucas said. "What was that?"

"Misdreavus, Psychic!" She tried to stop the creature, but it was just too quick for her to catch. It jumped at them again, overshooting when Nino pulled them out of it's path and crashing into a table within the room. Unsure what else to do, Nino reached out and closed the door.

 _Bang!_ The door shook. "Frickin hell!" Lucas exclaimed. "Did you see that thing?"

Nino elected to ignore him for the moment. There was one, much more pressing matter to attend to before dealing with his partner. "Misdreavus, go get my team."

"Woah, dude, you're going to call in your friends? They'll crack down on this place!"

 _Bang!_ "My pokémon, dude." Nino said. "Misdreavus alone can't fight that thing, and it's clearly aggressive."

"How's she going to get them here?"

"She'll release Gallade. He'll teleport. Listen, did you get a goo-" _Bang!_ Nino flinched, and repositioned to better support the door. "Did you see inside?"

"No? I was a bit preoccupied with that thing that wants to kill us."

"The room was trapped."

"No-" _Bang!_ "shit!"

"Not _guarded_. Trapped. There was a tripwire. When you opened the door, it released that pokémon."

"How does that help?"

"It means we're in the right place."

 _Crack!_ Nino was thrown forward when the wood of the door splintered. Sharp claws scratched at the hole, poking through and tearing at the wood.

"Wait. That pokémon isn't…"

"Lucas, focus." Nino knew what he was thinking. He saw it too, after all. The huge leafy tail, the leafy feathers, the scaly head and sharp teeth. _Jay and Jade._ "We ne-" _Crack!_

Nino fell forward, barely breaking his fall with his hands before his face hit linoleum. Wooden splinters rained down on him, and something thudded into the wall above him, opposite where the door once was, and landed on his back.

The whole endeavor knocked all the breath out of him, and it was all Nino could do to recover that breath. The creature on his back scrabbled to its feet, making Nino hiss with pain as its sharp talons dug into his back. Its tail was rough and knocked his hat off and scratched the back of his neck and head.

"Jay… Jade…" Lucas said. "It is you. Fuck, what did that witch do to you?"

Nino felt the creature take off and popped up off the ground just enough to get his feet under him. He looked over his shoulder and didn't even think before launching himself towards the creature, which was flying towards Lucas. He managed to grab it and drag it to the floor. With quick thinking and quicker reflexes, Nino managed to pin the creature beneath him. It was on its stomach, it's talons scratching uselessly at the linoleum. Nino had its wings pinned to its sides with his knees as he straddled it, and he used his hands to pin its head to the ground.

Lucas gaped at him. "If I ever doubted you kids could handle yourselves. Arceus."

Nino just looked up at him. His experiences in Lumiose just made him react. He didn't even think about what he was doing. His body just moved on its own. _Like riding a bike, apparently._ "Don't just stand around." Nino said. He felt weird talking to someone twice his age like that, but even then he was running on adrenaline and instinct. "Look inside!" He gestured with his head to the broken door.

"Right." Lucas stepped through and began looking around while Nino focused on restraining the struggling pokémon under him. _Hurry up, Misdreavus._


	9. Lailah Keaton

Joshua was antsy, to say the least. _It's been hours._ He tapped his phone on the palm of his hand rapidly. _He should have come back by now. Right? Something must have gone wrong._

 _But Misdreavus hasn't told us anything's gone wrong._

 _But it's been so long…_

His phone vibrated for the umpteenth time as he was waiting. For the umpteenth time, he jumped. But it was just a text.

AC: just saying its not a freakin bad thing  
AC: you all have talked to rocco if u think pokemon cant consent im banning u  
JC: None of us said that, Alya  
MD: Obviously Alya's jealous that Nino got to go in and not her.  
JC: Lol  
AC: we dont kno if they even do gay stuff so not really  
AC: and also this would be the worst place bc like probably sex trafficking?  
AC: but if i ever go through a casual sex phase you bet ur sweet cheeks im down for a pokemon  
MD: TMI, Alya.  
AC: you cant silence the truth mari  
JC: I'd be down, tbh  
MD: ! But Rose!  
JC: Obviously not counting Rose  
JC: If I didn't have a girlfriend – i.e. Sleeping around was something I desired in any way  
AC: hell yea pokelesbs  
JC: Please just say that out loud and listen to yourself.  
AC: honestly its so much fun to say mari try it  
MD: #pokelesbs  
AC: #pokelesbs  
JC: #bangarang  
AC: omg josh where are u  
AC: join us in our good gay chat  
JK: I'm not entirely comfortable discussing sex, especially with pokemon, so I decided to just not speak.  
AC: kk fine well stop so long as u answer 1 question  
JK: ?  
AC: if wed have sex with pokemon does that make us furries  
JC: Honestly I'm a furry either way so idc  
MD: *gasp*  
AC: exposed  
JK: Probably  
AC: exPOSED  
JK: Now can we not talk about that anymore?  
AC: ofc u pure sweet bean  
MD: How do you think Nino's holding up?  
AC: Nino: I ned n adult  
JC: Nino: That's way more dick than I expected  
AC: Nino: That's way more boobs than I expected  
JK: Are you guys just incapable of not talking about sex?  
AC: no we r its just relevant to our situation  
JC: Not that it doesn't come up otherwise  
MD: Exposed  
JK: Smh  
JC: Wait, hold on a sec Misdre's back  
AC: UPD8  
JC: Uh, I think something happened.  
MD: Everyone to the door.  
AC: roger  
JC: Roger  
JK: Roger.

Joshua ran as quickly as he could to the red door Nino had entered so many hours ago, when the sun was still high in the sky, but when he arrived, they were still waiting on Juleka.

Alya was pacing in front of the door, not so patiently waiting for Juleka, and Marinette was trying to reason with her. "We should at least try the standard way."

"No way in hell am I just sitting around until they allow me inside."

Juleka ran up to them, breathing heavily. "Sorry." She said, leaning over on her knees.

"Awesome." Alya said. "Now we get inside. Arcanine."

"Alya, wait."

But Marinette was too slow, and Arcanine had already blasted the door off its hinges. Alya scoffed, as if offended that the hinges weren't made of sturdier stuff, and walked inside. Joshua followed closely, not wanting to slow her down. _Mew, she can be scary._

"Excuse me." A middle aged man in a smart suit stood from the desk inside the stark white room. "You are trespassing on private property. I'm afraid I must ask you to leave."

Marinette sidled up beside Alya and Arcanine with little more than a sigh. "We know the tap code, Fox. You didn't need to blast the door in."

"My dude is in trouble down there!" Alya retorted. "What do you expect me to do?"

"Have just a little self-control? Nino can handle himself." She turned to the man behind the counter. "Now, if you please, we'd appreciate it if you'd let us inside."

"I most certainly cannot!"

"We know what this place is. We know the tap code too – sorry about the door, by the way. It's 'love'. Three, one, three, four, five, one, one, five. Now, can we go inside?"

The man coughed, collecting himself. "Yes, well, you do have the correct entry code. But you understand there is such a thing as procedure."

"We don't have time for procedure!" Alya exclaimed. "Our friend is in there right now, and he's in danger! If you don't let us in I'l-"

Marinette smiled sweetly. "You understand. Exceptional circumstances."

"Now, now, young ladies. You must be mistaken. If your friend is in our facility he is in no danger. We pride ourselves on fostering a clean and safe environment."

"Do I look like I care about your pride?"

Juleka came up beside Joshua, frowning at the scene. "Oh, hell." She said.

"Okay." Marinette said. "How long does it take?"

"Well, given the circumstances, I'll have to call the director. Perhaps thirty minutes, or so, depending on if she's busy."

Marinette frowned. "Okay, yeah. No time. Ralts, put him to sleep."

The man slumped forward on the desk before he had time to say anything else. Misdreavus hovered over the desk, so Joshua hopped over it and gently pushed the old man aside. He followed Misdreavus to a respectable-looking card in a terminal next to the computer. He took it and examined it.

It was mostly just plain white, with shimmering lettering that read, "Hideaway Massage Parlor. Richard Cummings." Juleka let out a barking laugh, earning Joshua's deadpan stare. "Staff." He finished reading.

Misdreavus flew around the corner, so everyone followed her down the hallway. At a set of sliding doors, Misdreavus showed Joshua where to swipe the card. Once he had, the doors silently opened to an elevator. "Only one floor?" Alya asked. "Weird. Everyone in? Good." She pressed the button and off they went.

When the doors opened again, much too long later, the receptionist at the desk they found just nodded to them. "Cards please." She said. "And put your pokémon and phones in the tra- hey, wait! You have to sign in!" Joshua cringed a little as they barreled past her. Despite everything else, he did feel a little bad because she was just doing her job. Same with Richard, earlier. _Mew, nothing stops these girls._

"Show us the way, Misdreavus." Alya said. Arcanine bounded beside them, but Marinette had returned Ralts to his pokéball in the elevator so that he wouldn't see anything inappropriate.

"On guard, guys." Marinette said, opening the door.

Joshua recoiled. In all his life he'd never smelt anything quite like the Hideaway. The unique, thick smell was only outclassed by the distant cacophony. The entire thing sent a shiver down Joshua's spine.

But still, he stuck close to his friends, tailing them and nearly walking straight into Alya when she stopped suddenly. "Oh." He heard her say. "That's unexpected."

Joshua recovered and looked over her shoulder to see what she meant. _Oh._ He thought. _That's… a lot of naked people._ On couches and chairs around the room there were pokémon on top of people, people on top of pokémon, people and pokémon both pinned down and making out with someone else, and Joshua felt just a little light headed and nauseous.

Juleka patted him on the back. "For the record," she said, "it does seem like the pokémon are into it."

"True." Alya said.

"Woa-ho!" A young man – perhaps in his twenties – approached them. "Hey girl! You look like you know how to have a fun time!"

It took a few seconds for Joshua to register that he was talking not to any of them, but to Alya's arcanine. Arcanine growled at him, and he held his hands up, one still clutching a bottle of what Joshua could only assume was an alcoholic drink. "Hey, it's cool. Can't win 'em all! Hope you have fun, anyway!"

Alya grinned widely, shaking herself out of the shock of what they were witnessing. "Come on!" She said, dragging them after Misdreavus.

At a door in the hallway they were led down, Joshua held up the card he had taken to the little terminal on the wall. In a moment, the lock opened up and they had all slipped inside. The unpainted concrete and exposed pipes and dim lighting made Joshua think that it was mostly just an access tunnel. _Which is good. We can get where we need to go without stirring up too much trouble._

Despite everything, including her own rage earlier, Alya giggled as they ran after Misdreavus. "That's insane!" She said. "Most guys can't take no for an answer from a human, but that guy backed right off!"

Marinette hummed. "Maybe Nino can tell us if that's the standard. He was in here a lot longer than we've been."

"If it is," Alya said, "we'll need to do more thinking about exposing this place. I'm not reporting a pokephilia place if there's not actually any real crimes involved."

Juleka huffed as she jogged alongside them. "We'll talk… to Nino… about it… first we help him."

Alya laughed. "Of course!"

"You alright, Jules?" Joshua asked.

"Out of shape." She responded. "Be fine."

Joshua frowned with worry, but Juleka didn't seem to fall behind, so it wasn't too much of an issue.

They exploded into another hallway, fancier than the one upstairs, and startled an arcanine that was passing by. It and Alya's arcanine sniffed at each other while the rest of them continued on after Misdreavus through a long hallway and past a series of labs.

But, in the end, it seemed their rush to Nino's defense was unnecessary. They turned the corner and saw, among rubble and splinters and dust, Nino, Gallade, Croagunk, and a man Josh had never seen before worriedly taking care of another hybrid. _Archeops and… sceptile maybe._ "Nino!" Alya yelled, nearly tackling him in greeting.

"Woah, hey, what are you doing here?"

"Misdreavus told us something was going on."

Nino looked to Misdreavus. "Really, girl?" He seemed incredulous. "It was one pokémon. Not even a mega." Misdreavus just giggled and zipped about in the air over their heads. Nino sighed. "I'm fine." He said, to Alya and the rest of them. "But the lab was trapped. Something's inside that we're not supposed to see."

"Understood." Marinette said. "But you're not fine. You're all scratched up. Juleka, help me with him. Alya, take care of H-2. Josh, check out the lab. And you…" She turned to the man who was with Nino.

"Lucas." He said.

"Help Alya."

Alya raised her hand as she joined Lucas next to the new fusion, which Marinette had appropriately dubbed H-2, apparently. "I'm Alya. What's the situation with this one?"

"Had to battle them." Lucas said. Joshua started approaching the laboratory and stepped through the splintered door. "They were confused. Attacked us soon as we opened the door."

"Josh!" Joshua turned around to Nino's voice. "There's a pokéball in there somewhere. H-2 was in it when we got here. It was released by some kind of tripwire."

Joshua nodded. _So, find the ball._

"Oh, and Josh." Nino worried his lip and fidgeted with his shirt. "You wouldn't happen to know a Lailah Keaton, would you?"

Joshua blinked, taken aback. "That's my mom's name. Why…" He turned his gaze to the lab. "Oh, no."

"I'm sorry."

Joshua followed the broken tripwire to a pokéball abandoned on the ground. Before anything else, he picked it up and gave it to Alya. _Was Mom working here? Making the fusions? If anyone could, she could, but why?_

 _Why leave home for this?_

It was hard to breathe. He knelt next to an overturned table. His heart pounded in his ears. He picked up a sheet of paper. _It's… a phylogenetic tree. Tracing sceptile and archeops to their last common ancestor. And that… That's Mom's handwriting. "With notable exceptions, fusions prove more successful between pokémon that are more closely related."_ Most of the notes in his mother's handwriting were beyond his comprehension, but he understood what she was doing, at the very least. _With successful fusions of pokémon with unique genetic traits like eevee and vaporeon which would naturally increase likelihood of success, she started trying to fuse more regular pokémon. But where does it end? And why did it start?_

He looked around at the machinery, but it was all way beyond his level. There was a PCR machine, designed to amplify DNA, but Joshua didn't recognize much else. On the far end of the room was a large metal cylinder, big enough for him to fit inside – and indeed there were two doors on it. One on either side of the cylinder. _Looks like some sort of sensory deprivation chamber. Kind of freaky. But what was it for?_

He went over to the desk, checking the computer resting there and accepting that it was beyond broken. _Nothing for it. When you fight in a place like this, it happens. Wait. What's…_ On the floor next to the desk, Joshua saw a shattered picture frame.

 _It's us. It is her. There's no doubt._ He gingerly picked it up, already tears were welling up in his eyes. _This was back when we were together. I… didn't think she'd have anything like this._ He looked at his own grinning face, alongside his father's and mother's. It hurt him, deeply, to see it. Like someone shoved a fiery poker in his gut. _This isn't fair. She left. She made that decision._ Joshua gritted his teeth and slipped the photo out of the frame.

When he folded it in half, he noticed the scribbled writing on the back of it. _"For Josh. I'm going to make you happy."_

The picture was torn in half before Joshua even realized he had moved. "Fuck you." He muttered darkly, throwing the halves of the photo over his shoulder. "You don't get to say that." He moved to the PCR machine. "You don't even get to try that." Near the machine, a mini-fridge with a bunch of labelled vials caught Joshua's attention. "If you cared you would have stayed."

He knelt down, picking up some of the vials to examine them closer. "Now, what's this?" _Marked A-sub-6. I'd need her notes to know what each one represents._

"Josh…" He turned his head in response to Juleka's voice and saw her holding the halves of the photograph.

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter." Back at the desk, Joshua rifled through some of the papers.

"Josh, it's your mom."

"I know." He responded tersely.

"Don't you thi-"

"Here it is." Joshua pushed a large stack of paper aside and lifted up a small journal.

Alya joined them in the lab. "What is?" She asked.

"Lailah's journal." Joshua said. "She's always kept one. Mostly science stuff." He opened it, finding the most recent entry. "Specimen is recovering more quickly than previous ones." He read. "As expected, the health of the specimen seems to affect the fusion and recovery process. I'll need more trials, but superficial observations suggest health is positively correlated to recovery given a successful fusion and inversely correlated to acceptance of the fusion. On the latter point, could it be from an immune response? In every test there seemed to be a 'dominant' phenotype between the species, that is, one takes on parts of the other rather than an equal mix. Must discover cause before beginning fina- hey!"

Alya's arcanine and the other from the hall had come in, and the new arcanine began sniffing at Joshua's crotch. He pushed its head away. Lucas came over and petted it. "Come on, Rex. This isn't the time."

Marinette touched Joshua's arm, looking down at the journal still open in his hands. "What does that mean?"

"Basically, it means she's behind the fusions for sure. Apparently, they don't mix equally, and she wants to know why before she starts the final phase."

Marinette closed her eyes and tapped her foot. "So, what do we know? Nino?"

Nino took a deep breath. "We – Lucas and I – managed to confirm that Adrien was here last month. Mid-January. His dad donated a lot of money to this place and requested that most of it be funneled to Lailah Keaton, who we think… well, are pretty sure is behind the disappearance of several hosts over the last couple months."

"Hosts?"

"The pokémon workers here."

Lucas frowned, scratching Rex behind the ears. "Like Rex here." He said.

Marinette nodded. "Okay. So, what's our next move?"

"You'll put your hands behind your head." Joshua jumped when someone new appeared in the doorway. The woman was in a security uniform and held a pistol out, pointed at Alya, who had her hands up over her head and was slowly backing further into the room to give the woman space. The uniformed woman gave them all a once-over. "I should've known you'd be here Lucas. But this is too far, even for you."

"Karen!" Lucas gave a forced grin. "How nice to see you."

"What the hell is going on here, Lucas? The labs? Really?"

"If you'd lower the gun, I can explain everything."

She narrowed her eyes. "You don't need the gun lowered to explain. Start talking. And you! Kids, don't move."

Joshua's heart was in his throat. It was all he could do to stay on his feet with how his knees wobbled.

Lucas sighed and said simply, "Lailah Keaton was involved in the kidnapping of hosts and was performing unethical experiments on them."

Karen lowered her gun slightly. "You better have proof of something like that, Luke."

"There's a pokéball in my pocket. It has Jay and Jade inside."

Karen narrowed her eyes again. "Both of them?"

"Lailah was fusing pokémon."

Karen huffed, holstered her gun, and reached into Lucas' pocket, retrieving the pokéball. When she released H-2, it was still in less than ideal condition, and was not aggressive, thankfully. Still, Karen recoiled at the sight. "I don't believe it." Rex sniffed at H-2 and licked its face. When it looked at Rex, Joshua saw something in its eyes that he hadn't seen in H-1's. _It recognizes him._ With a weak cry, H-2 bumped its head affectionately into Rex's chin. _H-1 is affectionate, but it doesn't recognize anyone. I'm not sure it even has much in the way of long-term memory. Even between days it forgot who I am. But this one knew Rex from before it was fused. That's progress. A lot of progress._ The revelation was shocking to Joshua, but, afraid of the security officer with them, he couldn't have spoken if he tried.

Lucas nodded, keeping his hands squarely above his head. "And we found Lailah's journal, which you'll see leaves no room for doubt as to who fused these two."

"Let me see this journal."

Lucas gestured with his head to Joshua, who felt like his insides had joined the rest of his body in turning into a statue. Karen looked at him and reached out a hand. "I won't hurt you." She said. "See? No gun. May I please see that?"

Joshua swallowed with difficulty and handed her the journal.

She flipped through it quickly. "Shit." She snapped the journal shut. "At ease, everyone. You're not in trouble. Not from me, anyway." Joshua still only dropped his hands after he saw the others do so. "So, how far does this go?"

"As far as we could find," Lucas said, "It's just Lailah, Gabriel Agreste, and possibly one or two gold visitors."

"And why were you looking into Lailah? Who are these kids?"

"Actually, it was them looking into Gabriel Agreste that got us all here." Lucas said. "They found one of the gold ledgers in Gabriel's place."

"Impossible."

"And guess whose names were circled in it? Showers and Sable."

Karen's eyes went wide. "Why? Why take the ledger?"

Lucas looked to Nino, and Karen followed his gaze. It was clear he was conceding the floor. Nino cleared his throat awkwardly. "We're not sure. Honestly, that wasn't even what we were investigating. We're actually trying to find our friend."

"Adrien Agreste." Lucas said.

"Adrien Agreste?" Karen repeated, dumbfounded. "Blacklisted Adrien Agreste?"

Joshua shared a look with Juleka, unsure what exactly she meant. "The very same." Lucas said. "Any idea where he went?"

Karen cracked her knuckles. "Shit. I didn't know the kid was missing."

"Do you not watch the news?"

"Shut up, Luke. I'm trying to say I know what happened to him."

"Wait," Alya jumped in. "You do? Where is he? What happened?"

"I don't know where he is, just that Lailah took him out of here and ordered we put him on the blacklist. I thought she was just being protective, didn't want the kid in this kind of environment. I knew she had a kid about the same age, after all. But he was missing?"

Joshua met Alya's eyes and curled into himself. "Yeah." Alya said. "He went chasing after his dad three months ago."

Lucas made a face. "You put a visitor on the blacklist because Lailah told you to?"

"Wasn't me, it was my boss. And we sent a notice to the desk to let him in if he came back. Can't get off the blacklist without him being present, so we had to leave him there until we saw him again."

"Hang on," Alya said. "Do you know where Lailah might have taken him?"

"No clue. Didn't know she was mutilating pokémon or kidnapping our hosts either." Karen cracked her knuckles. "She's going to get what's coming to her."

"We have to find her, first." Marinette pointed out.

"And we will. Don't worry, kids. I'll find her and get your friend back." Karen paused and tapped her foot. "But first, all of you out. This lab is officially off limits."

Lucas snickered. "It was off limits to us anyway."

"I'm going to report this to my boss." Karen said, ignoring him. "And then I'm spearheading this investigation. I'll need to talk to you all to get testimonies, then you can go home."

Marinette crossed her arms. "We're not going anywhere." She said. "We came out here to get Adrien back."

"And you'll get him. Just leave it to the grown-ups."

"No offense, but grown-ups haven't been very reliable so far."

Karen just raised a quizzical eyebrow, as did Lucas, so Alya elaborated. "We're the ones who fought for our lives against mega evolved pokémon in the streets. And what did the grown-ups do? Nothing at all."

"They were conducting an investigation. They found out Gabriel was the one behind that." Lucas said with a frown.

"Yeah." Alya said. "And they even fought the pokémon too, but once one mega evolved, who handled it? Soon as mega evolution hit, the grown-ups were content to sit back and let us fight instead."

Karen opened her mouth but didn't manage any words.

"And then, who was behind the attacks in the first place? Adrien's dad. We thought the guy was an asshole, but we did trust him, you know. We thought he'd take care of Adrien. And look how that turned out."

Joshua grit his teeth. He couldn't hold back his own little vent. "And then." He said. Karen and Lucas turned to face him. "When we dig deeper, to find our friend, we find out that another person involved in all this shit is Lailah. The grown-up who left my dad and me without saying goodbye. The mom who I thought cared about her kid."

Karen closed her eyes. "Shit. Lucas."

"Hmm?"

"Keep an eye on them." She eyed Joshua and the others carefully. "Fine. Clearly you won't back down, so stay close to either me or Lucas, alright?"

"Wait, how did I end up part of this?" Lucas asked.

"Because I said so, and because we both know you were going to 'help' whether I wanted you to or not." She shook her head. "Follow me. All of you. I'll escort you to the security office. Once there, you each will give your full account of everything that happened today, including context, and then you will be escorted to the common room." Joshua followed the rest of the group behind her. "You will be free to go. I'll personally request no action be taken against you for the rule-breaking here today, in light of bigger concerns." _What would you even do? You can't actually go through the courts and you can't detain us, so…_ "If you insist on continuing to participate in the investigation, give Lucas your contact information before you leave. And you four who broke in here without registering in the system, do so on your way out. We'll send a notice ahead so there's no bureaucratic problems with it."

"Why do we need to register?" Alya asked.

"Because you'll get in much quicker tomorrow, and we don't have time to waste."

Alya shrugged. "Works for me."

In the following hour, or couple of hours, Joshua wasn't entirely sure, things played out exactly as Karen said they would. At the entrance, Alya apologized for the broken door, and all four of them received their own membership cards. "As punishment," Richard said, his nose high in the air, "you four will not receive the standard free appointment with a host."

Alya just raised her eyebrows and pointedly looked to Nino. "Standard free host appointment, huh?"

Nino covered his face with his hands, though it seemed to Joshua to be more out of exasperation than embarrassment.

Along the way, Nino and Lucas had told them about the Hideaway. Despite everything happening, Joshua had to admit that it was better than he suspected. The concept still made him uncomfortable, but he had very quickly become used to it. After the scene in the common room, Alya, Marinette, and Juleka's chatter, and the painful detail (though admittedly very informative) that Nino went into describing how everything worked, Joshua couldn't really help but just kind of accept it all. _Besides, even if I'm not enthusiastic about it, or down for doing it, I do agree that consent is what matters. So, I don't have any principled objections to the place. Just feelings._

Once they were all out the door, Marinette asked them the big question. "So, we've all been inside. Are we going to report the Hideaway, when this is over?"

"Hell no." Alya responded immediately. "They're actively stopping rape and shit, not promoting it."

"It's a no from me, too, if we're voting." Nino said.

Alya nodded. "And he got the best look."

Juleka hummed. "I vote nay. Innocent until proven guilty, and Karen really seems to care about making sure the hosts are okay."

Joshua worried his lip. "I can't say I have any principled reasons to report them, so…"

"Alright then." Marinette said. "We'll keep the secret unless we find evidence of something else going on. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Alya said.

"You should let Chloé know."

"Oh, you're right."

Alya pulled out her phone, and Nino rubbed his arm, careful of the scratches on it. "Uh, Josh? Are you okay? I mean, when Adrien found out his parent was a super villain, he kind of bailed on us."

Joshua hugged himself. "My mom left us a long time ago." He said. "I'll be fine."

He felt hands on his back, from all of them. But it was Marinette who spoke. "If we can do anything to help you feel a little more fine, you just let us know, okay?"

"Yeah."

"And when we fa-" Marinette was cut off by a blood-curdling screech. Immediately, she reached for a pokéball. The others followed suit, and they all turned in unison to find the source of the noise.

Joshua didn't even have time to recognize what was flying at them before he had all the breath knocked out of his lungs when a set of large talons closed around his torso. "Josh!" Alya called. "Arcanine, Extreme Speed!"

Joshua couldn't see what was happening. He couldn't breathe – the pokémon was gripping him too tight. He struggled and squirmed until it let him go and he fell, leaving his stomach behind. The pokémon caught him again, to his relief, just a moment later, apparently just repositioning like he was.

Still, though the grip around him was tight, he could finally breathe again, and he also managed to look at what had grabbed him. Or, to be more accurate, it was all he could look at. He was staring at the underside of an aerodactyl. _A mega aerodactyl. But it's like the alakazam. It isn't just throwing a tantrum like the ones in Lumiose, it's taking me somewhere._

"Josh!" Marinette's voice was faint, whipped away by the wind in his ears. Joshua twisted as much as he could to look below him, and immediately regretted his decision. He was far above the buildings, far enough that in the dark of night as they were, no one would notice the mega aerodactyl flying overhead. He couldn't see his friends, and the whole struggle left him hopeless, and with a hopeless case of vertigo. _It came out of nowhere. It grabbed me and took off before we even had the chance to fight._

 _Which means it's not here to fight. It's here to kidnap me. Or, one of us, at least. I guess I'll find out when we get to wherever this guy is taking me._

As terrified as he was, after several minutes in the mega aerodactyl's claws, he was mostly just cold. It was the middle of February, after all, and the altitude only made it worse. His face stung from the wind and cold, and he couldn't even use his hands to warm it since he was restrained by his captor. The best he could do was quiver helplessly.

Once they had finally reached their destination, Joshua was dropped unceremoniously to the concrete. He hissed in pain, thankful at least that he hadn't hit his head. And then the mega aerodactyl stood over him, making sure he didn't try anything. _By the time I reach a pokéball, that thing could have snapped me in two. How do I get out of this?_

"Oh, little, Joshie! You've grown so much!"

The voice sent a chill down Joshua's spine. Despite the threat still directly over him, he reached for a pokéball. The mega aerodactyl planted a talon on his chest, pinning his arm down before his fingers found their quarry. He struggled in vain against the weight of the pokemon, and glowered when Lailah Keaton stepped closer, into his field of vision.

"Look at you!" She exclaimed. "Off, beast." She had grabbed his arms even before the aerodactyl had removed its foot, so he still had no chance of reaching his pokéballs. "I can't wait to show you what I've been working on! You're going to be so proud, I just know!"

"I know what you've been working on." Joshua spat. "It's horrific."

"Oh, I know you've met one of my little experiments." She said cheerfully. "Speaking of. I'll take these so you don't throw a tantrum and hurt yourself." With a sickly sweet smile she plucked his pokéballs from his belt and tucked them away in a bag. "Now, come on, I have so much to share with you!"

He dug his heels in and felt the resistance all the way to his teeth. "No." He said. "Why did you bring me here?"

Lailah cupped his face in her hands. He swatted her hands away. "Because you're my son." She said.

"Not anymore."

"Oh, honey. You don't mean that."

"You left." Joshua said harshly. " _You_ did. It was your decision. You left my life, so you don't have any right anymore to be in it."

Joshua covered his cheek where Lailah had slapped him. It stung. The cut that H-1 had given him throbbed. "Don't talk to your mother that way." Lailah said calmly.

Joshua gritted his teeth and spat at the ground at her feet. "Fuck you."

Lailah sighed. "I admit," she said, "I hoped you'd be more cooperative. I guess I'll just have to put you in time out until I finish preparing." Manhandling him, she managed to bind his hands together in front of him.

Unable to do anything about the bonds, he did the next best thing he could think of. Try to get more information. "Preparing? Preparing what?"

"The final product!" She grinned excitedly, wildly. Joshua hesitated when he truly took in how she looked. Her black hair was unkempt and frizzy, even matted at places. Her clothes were torn, her eyes wide, but sporting deep bags under them. _What happened to her?_

He remembered his mother as radiant. A goddess in her own right. She was intelligent and witty and she taught him to think critically. She always encouraged him to ask questions, no matter how trivial or simple they seemed. She'd tell stories and play a game with him where they pick out the lies hidden within them. But this person in front of him was someone else entirely.

"Final product?" He asked.

"Yes! You'll see. I'm so excited to show you."

"But what is it? I know you're fusing pokémon, but to what end? What do you hope to accomplish?"

Lailah dragged him inside a building, within which was another laboratory. Another of the huge cylinders like in the Hideaway was resting horizontally against one wall, with all sorts of wires and tubes connected to it. In cages along the opposite wall were husks of pokémon. Eevee and furret and raticate and buneary and so many more, locked away, silent, most sporting some kind of physical deformation that gave away the fusion they'd no doubt been a part of. Only a couple even seemed capable, or willing, to move, and those mostly just bumped into the walls of their cells dumbly.

"We're going to revolutionize the way humans and pokemon interact. We'll bring a whole new understanding to cross the bridge between us!"

"We're not doing anything. I'm not a part of this."

"But honey, I got a special gift for you!" She rushed over to a large device, gesturing for him to join her and look behind it. He approached carefully. "Gabriel wouldn't let me touch his son. Too bad, it would have been nice to have one final test run before the real deal, but I'm confident everything will work out. And besides. Adrien wasn't the real prize anyway. I got something much better."

Joshua rounded the corner and almost gagged. Beaten, bloodied, and broken, a pokémon was chained to the wall and hanging unconscious. "Is that…" He said shakily. His voice cracked. He couldn't keep the terror from showing through his tone. "Rocco?"

He rushed forward to check on his old friend. Carefully, and with difficulty, he touched Rocco's cheek with his bound hands and felt the wisp of breath warm his palm. _He's alive at least. For what that's worth._ Lailah laughed ecstatically. "Wonderful! You're already acquainted. This will make everything even easier. Now be a good boy and sit still while I finish preparing."

Joshua jumped to his feet and, without hesitation, tackled Lailah with full force. _I don't know what she's planning, but I can't let her finish preparing. Rocco has something to do with it. And me. That's why she brought me here. I just have to stall her long enough to let the others get here._

 _They're going to get here._

But his plan didn't come to fruition. Instead, a new hybrid, a tawny canine or feline – Joshua couldn't tell because of the bone skull covering its head. _Something and marowak?_ Swatted him off of Lailah and pinned him with a broad paw on his chest.

"Really, Josh!" Lailah exclaimed. "Behave. I taught you better than this."

"Maybe I forgot in the past _four years_." Lailah huffed and turned to her work. Joshua struggled, but with a view of the sharp teeth on the creature above him, he didn't like his chances. _If I'm going down, I'm at least going to know why._ "Tell me what you're planning." He said.

"I told you. We're going to revolutionize how pokémon and people communicate! That's why Agreste's zoroark is so very useful, you see. Because it is already exceptionally fluent in our language."

"You want… to fuse Rocco?"

"Of course! If we can get that knowledge inside the brain of a real person, they'd be famous!"

"You're mad." Joshua's throat was dry. "You want to fuse pokémon and humans."

"You're going to be famous!" She squealed, clearly excited.

"Not just pokémon and people…" Joshua realized. His breathing became ragged and quick as it dawned on him and the severity of his situation kicked in. _Even despite everything, I didn't think she'd hurt me._ "You want to fuse Rocco and… me."

"Who better? Even if Gabriel would let me, Adrien doesn't have the mind you have." She turned to face him for the first time in the entire talk. "He doesn't have the right mind. Only you do. You have that mind I raised you to have."

Joshua found it difficult to draw in breath. Each gasp left him feeling closer and closer to asphyxiation. _She's serious. She's planning on… Please hurry, guys. How do I stall?_ "But you said it's better when the specimens are healthy. How can you fuse Rocco in that state?"

"Oh, that's the genius of it!" She returned to the computer terminal. "I'm sure you read my journal. Remember that while recovery is quicker with healthier specimens, I had no way of determining which specimen would end up the dominant one. But I found a way around it! If the pokémon specimen is weak, but the human strong, then the human will almost certainly end up the dominant one! And since the one who's body is modified – the dominant one – is the one going through the physical changes, they're the one who needs to be healthy. A weak secondary specimen is actually ideal, because it gives me more control over the outcome!"

Joshua glanced nervously to Rocco. _How could someone do something like that… it's just pain for pain's sake._ "That's sadistic." He said. "How could you hurt Rocco like that?"

"It's for your own good!" She chirped eagerly. "You'll be thanking me when it's over. And there we go! All that's left is for the specimens to enter the chamber." She tapped the tawny-colored fusion on it's flank after unlocking the chains around Rocco. "Bring this one to the chamber." She ordered. "I'll take my son."

"You're mad." He said. She pulled him up by his bound hands. "Stop! Don't do this!"

"Don't worry, honey. It'll be over in just a moment."

"Mom, please!" He struggled against her desperately, trying to stay away from the large cylinder that the tawny fusion had thrown Rocco's limp body into. "Please!"

"Trust your mother, honey."

The tawny fusion came over to help Lailah, and Joshua lost ground quickly. He couldn't stop his tears from flowing freely. "No! Mom, you need to stop! Please, I don't want to- oof!" He twisted within the chamber, seeing Lailah's feral grin disappearing behind the shutting door. "No, please! Please! Mom!"

"You'll be famous." Lailah said. Then all light vanished, and all Joshua could hear was a quick, ragged breath.


	10. Endosymbiosis

It was all over before Juleka even knew what was happening. The mega aerodactyl had come from nowhere. It just swooped in, snatched Josh, and left. They didn't even have a chance to get him back. By the time they released their pokémon, the aerodactyl was already far away and getting further.

"Noivern, follow it!" Nino yelled. No one else could do anything except sprint in the direction the aerodactyl had flown.

"Damn it!" Alya cursed. "They're a step ahead of us!"

Marinette cut to giving orders. "Nino, call Lucas. Tell him what happened and what direction we're heading."

"Already on it, Mari."

"Good. Let's hurry."

They ran and ran until their legs wouldn't carry them any further. Juleka felt like she was trying to balance on two long stalks of jelly and nearly collapsed from the effort. Even Marinette was gasping for breath when they gave up their foot chase.

Noivern flew overhead, calling to them and indicating a direction to go. "I…" Juleka gasped, "can't…"

"Me neither." Nino said. "I can't run anymore."

"We can't give up!" Alya countered. "We need to rescue Josh!"

"Hold on a minute, Alya."

"There's no time!"

"Just chill, my dude." Nino typed at his phone. "I just sent Lucas our location. He'll drive us. We'll probably get there faster by just waiting here for him than running after the aerodactyl."

They all collapsed on the sidewalk, trying to regain their breath before Lucas pulled up in a pick-up truck. As Karen was in the passenger seat, the four of them hopped in the truck bed instead, and Lucas started on his way, following Noivern.

"What happened?" Karen asked, looking through the back window to them.

"I'm not sure." Marinette said. "We were headed to the Pokemon Center when a mega aerodactyl just appeared and flew away with Josh."

Karen seemed alarmed by that. "A mega? You think it's connected to Gabriel?"

Marinette nodded. "Or Lailah."

"But there hasn't been a mega attack since October."

"But there have been more megas." Lucas took a sharp turn, and they all had to brace themselves for fear of falling out of the truck. "We've only met one, but they're not the same as they used to be. They're more in control. They don't attack like they used to. It's targeted."

"Why would one be sent after you, though?"

Marinette and Alya exchanged a look. "We're getting too close." Marinette said. "Most likely, they didn't expect us to find the Hideaway so quickly. The pressure's on them, so they're taking more drastic measures."

"Are you sure?" Nino asked. "This seems pretty rash. I don't think Gabriel or Lailah would overplay their hand so far."

"He has a point." Alya said. "They just led us to their hideout."

"We don't know that yet."

"But we should still expect a trap." Karen said.

They all nodded in agreement. Juleka thumbed one of the pokéballs at her waist. _If we really do find Gabriel there… or Lailah… what are we meant to do?_ She curled her fingers into her palm, feeling her nails dig into the skin. _Whatever it takes to get Josh and Adrien back. We're so close. Hold on just a little longer._

Juleka looked around to her friends, all with hard, determined countenances. A somber silence fell over them. _We don't know what we're walking into. Only that it's dangerous._ Her heart fluttered in her chest. _We should be leaving this to Karen. She was right. She's the adult. But still… we can't just turn our backs. Especially not now._

The bumpy bed of the truck left a lot to be desired as far as comfort was concerned, but none of them were overly concerned with that. When it finally slowed to a halt, Noivern perched on a nearby building, Juleka was all too happy to jump out and stretch her legs. It wasn't a particularly long ride, just too long for comfort. Joshua had been in their enemy's clutches for almost twenty minutes, by her estimate. Probably closer to thirty considering aerodactyl's speed and the fact that it needn't heed traffic.

The building itself was nondescript. It wasn't particularly run-down, and neither was it fancy. It was just a plain brick building that disappeared into the sea of other buildings around it. If she wasn't aware of the danger it held, she would not have even noticed it.

"Kids, stay behind me." Karen said, pulling a pokéball from her pocket. "Rhyperior, on me." The huge pokémon that she had released backed up her approach and positioned himself in front of the door. Each of them took positions on either side, allowing Karen and Rhyperior the closest positions. Karen held up a finger to Rhyperior, then reached over to the handle.

After confirming that it was locked, she indicated for all of them to back up. Juleka wrapped her arm around Alya's waist, holding her close as they both pressed against the cold brick. Rhyperior took a single step back, and then slammed the door down with one throw of his body. Karen slipped inside right behind him, and the rest of them followed.

"How rude!" A voice, quickly identified as coming from the ragged, dark skinned woman that looked more at home as a bog witch than a scientist. _She really let herself go._ Juleka thought to the picture she had seen in the Hideaway. _Looks like she hasn't been doing very well. How didn't the Hideaway notice?_ "Don't you know you aren't supposed to show up uninvited?"

"Lailah Keaton," Karen said, "In accordance with the rules and guidelines of the Hideaway, you are henceforth under arrest until such a time that we conclude our investigation into your crimes of-"

"Blah, blah, blah. You have no power here, Karen." Juleka nervously eyes the wall of cages but concluded that most of the pokémon within them were harmless even if they were released. _They don't even seem aware. They're totally gone._

"On the contrary, Lailah." Karen reached into her jacket and pulled out her gun and badge. "Let me reintroduce myself. Karen Gingrich, SCPD. You're under arrest for kidnapping, unethical experimentation on pokémon, threatening public peace, and being an accomplice to mass murder."

Juleka was a little taken a back. _Dang, she's a real police officer?_ "Karen, duck!" Marinette pulled Karen down, spotting the tawny-colored, skull-headed pokémon just before it had pounced. "Mawile! Iron Head!"

Before the skull-headed dog had turned around, Mawile slammed her jaws into it, flattening it to the ground. "Let's add attempted assault of a police officer!" Karen said. "Rhyperior!" Rhyperior joined Mawile in pinning the fusion to the ground, keeping it out of the way.

Lailah's cackling echoed in the room, penetrating deep into Juleka's mind. "You're too late!" She yelled. "I've already completed my magnum opus! My son and I are going to be famous!"

"Where is he?" Alya growled. She released Luxio and Arcanine and advanced threateningly. "What did you do with Josh?"

Lailah cackled even more, practically doubling over with laughter. "I wouldn't do anything too rash now." She said. "My son is resting. The procedure took a greater toll on his body than I anticipated. If you destroy my equipment, you might kill him!"

"Procedure?!" Alya gasped. "What did you do?"

"Alya, stand down!" Karen ordered.

Alya just repeated herself, approaching boldly and grabbing Lailah by the collar. "What did you do?!"

"Alya!"

Alya's eyes flickered behind Lailah, and her grip slackened. "What…"

Concerned, Juleka joined Alya and looked around the big machine on the wall to what Alya was looking at. On the wall itself were several chains with cuffs on the end, clearly designed to hold someone like something you'd find in a dungeon. Accompanying the chains was a generous splattering of rusty red covering the wall and floor. _That's blood._ On a table, with an assortment of tubes and wires coming from him, Joshua laid unconscious and pale and thinner than Juleka remembered. There was something else odd about him, but Juleka couldn't quite place what was so strange.

The other humans in the room expressed varying degrees of shock and disgust and fury, while Lailah just continued laughing like this was the funniest joke in the world.

 _What the hell did she do to him?_

Karen grabbed Lailah, spinning her around and beginning to attach handcuffs to her wrists. Marinette ran over to Joshua. "Hey!" Lucas said. "Don't touch him. We don't know what state he's in. We shouldn't touch any of that."

"I know." Marinette said. "I just…"

 _Crack!_

Dust fell from the ceiling. Marinette reacted almost immediately by calling out Bisharp. Juleka looked up at the large spiderweb of cracks in the ceiling.

 _Boom!_

The entire ceiling caved in, and the roar of a mega aerodactyl pounded Juleka's eardrums. She covered her head with her hands and turned away, hoping to be spared from the falling rubble.

Her ears were ringing. She opened her eyes to see the shimmering Protect around her and Alya. Alya was saying something but Juleka couldn't hear her properly. She felt Alya's hand on her shoulder, looked into Alya's wide eyes. "I'm okay." She said, inferring what Alya wanted.

Then she turned back to the room, darker now that the only light came from the moon and stars rather than flickering fluorescent lights. Past the mega aerodactyl in the middle of the room, Marinette and Lucas huddled with Joshua and a wide bubble of machinery within the Protect made by Bisharp and Mawile.

In the center of the room, where most of the rubble fell, Rhyperior had covered Nino and the tawny fusion with his own Protect, but that still left Karen and Lailah unaccounted for, and a mega aerodactyl standing atop an uneven pile of rubble.

"Mawile, mega evolve!" Marinette pulled up her sleeve, revealing the bracelet with the Key Stone charm, and touched it, triggering Mawile's mega evolution. The aerodactyl scratched at the rubble beneath it, uncovering more fully the battered bodies of Lailah and Karen. Karen coughed and was bleeding, but Juleka couldn't tell where from. "Ice Beam!"

Mawile shot the beam, but the aerodactyl took off, narrowly avoiding it. It screamed once more and plucked Lailah from the ground. "Crunch!"

In a feat of mid-air maneuvering, the aerodactyl spun and swiped at Mawile with it's tail. She just closed her jaws around that rather than its neck where she was aiming. With another ear-splitting roar, it rose higher into the air, struck more of the ceiling with it's tail, effectively scraping Mawile off, and when Mawile hit the ground with a thud, it flew away.

Karen rose to her hands and knees, still coughing. Lucas rushed to her side, quickly followed by Nino, while Marinette and Alya headed to Mawile first.

"Karen, you okay?" Lucas asked, giving her his hand to help her to her feet and to keep her steady.

She was covered in grime and dirt, as they all were, and it seemed like she had a particularly nasty cut on her shoulder, and her forehead was bleeding profusely as well (though Juleka unfortunately knew enough at that point to know that head injuries always bleed a lot. Her best estimate was that it wasn't a particularly bad cut, though she did consider the possibility of a concussion.). "I'm alright." Karen said, hissing with pain. "Or I will be. This is nothing, don't worry about it. How's the kid?"

Marinette came over with Mawile and Alya. "I think we managed to protect all the important equipment, but I'd call an ambulance as soon as possible."

"I'll do it." Karen said. "We need to get people in to deal with these poor things, too." She looked pointedly to the caged fusions and the thrashing tawny fusion still under Rhyperior's bulk. "Good thing my phone didn't break." She sighed and typed in a number, holding it to her ear.

Juleka moved over to Joshua, instead of listening to her phone call. She gingerly touched the edge of the table he laid on. His features seemed off somehow, even past his gaunt appearance. And the blood and chains on the wall filled Juleka with a terrible feeling like a dark tentacle squirming inside her gut.

Alya screamed. The most high-pitched, girly sounding scream Juleka had ever heard from her. She spun around to see Alya trip over herself backing up from the dented cylinder at the end of the room, not far from where Juleka stood. "Alya?" Nino asked. "What is it?"

He started towards the cylinder, but she grabbed him and pulled him close to her instead. "No." She said. "Don't look. Don't." She buried her face into Nino. Juleka was fairly certain she was crying.

Karen was still on the phone, but Lucas bounded over to prevent either Juleka or Marinette from looking into the cylinder. "What is it?" Marinette asked. "What's in there?" Her voice was stretched taut, shocked by Alya's reaction.

"Just hold on, please." Lucas said. He turned to look inside, and quickly covered his mouth, staggering backward himself. He recovered faster, though, and supported himself on the cylinder as he examined further. "Karen."

"What's going on?" Marinette asked. When she stepped forward to look, Lucas grabbed her and pulled her away before she could see.

"You don't want to see that." He said. "Trust me."

"What is it?" Nino asked. "You can at least tell us, right?"

While Lucas bit his lip and avoided eye contact, Karen walked over to the cylinder to take a look for herself. She sighed and hung her head. "It's a body." She said, grim and professional.

"A body?" Nino's voice cracked. "Whose?"

Karen shook her head. "I don't know. Looks like a zoroark."

Alya let out a sob. "R… Rocco." She blubbered into Nino's shirt.

Juleka swayed on her feet. _Rocco. I didn't mishear her. She said Rocco._ She leaned against the wall. Her legs gave out, and she dropped to her knees. _Rocco's body._ She was sure her heart was either beating too quickly to count each beat or wasn't beating at all. She couldn't find her breath; she felt like her lungs had given up on life and simply refused to function. Her throat felt clogged. _Rocco._

"Kids…" Karen said. "I'm so sorry."

None of them could answer her. Lucas let go of Marinette, who had fully stopped struggling. Instead, he went and gave Karen a hug. "What do we do?" He asked.

Karen sniffed, and swiped at her nose. "Well, I think it's obvious what happened here. Lailah Keaton fused her son and this zoroark."

 _Fused._

"The police are on their way with specialists to take all the fusions. And an ambulance will be here for Joshua."

 _She fused them. She killed Rocco._

"We need to find Lailah before she can do anything like this again. And while we're at it, we need to find Gabriel and rescue Adrien Agreste."

 _But… fused._

Lucas rubbed his neck. "So, we're back at one."

 _Fused._

"Damn it!" Karen turned and punched the large metal cylinder, sending a loud "clang" echoing through Juleka's head.

Juleka used the wall and pulled herself to her feet. Desperately, she turned back to Joshua. _Fused. If he's fused, then…_

Now that she knew what she was looking for, it was obvious. Why Joshua's features seemed so off. Because they were. _His ears._

His ears were too high on his skull and his nose just a fraction too large. _It's changing him. Rocco isn't gone, he's inside Josh somewhere._

 _I hope._

Standing over Joshua, the initial shock passed over Juleka and, as she looked down at his face, everything crushed her. She cried.

She remembered all the hours she spent learning sign language, Adrien and Rocco laughing at her errors and helping her correct them. So vividly in her mind, she remembered all the time she'd watch Rocco perform, how her heart warmed when he invited her to dance and even taught her the steps.

He wasn't perfect. He was hurt, he was broken, but so was she, so were they all. None of them, especially not Rocco, deserved this.

 _I'm bargaining._ She thought bitterly. _Fusion or not, Rocco is gone. What am I going to do? How will I tell Adrien?_

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and accepted Karen's embrace. She just cried and cried and cried until Karen pulled away and the sound of sirens outside brought them all back to focus.

People came in and took Joshua out of the building. They took Karen, too, insisting that she get examined after seeing her injuries. More people came and sedated the tawny fusion and the others in the cages and carried them out one by one until all that was left were broken machines, open cages, Juleka and her friends, and Lucas.

Juleka numbly stepped toward the cylinder. Lucas grabbed her arm. "You shouldn't." He said.

"I need to." Juleka said. She wasn't sure what compelled her to look, but she felt she didn't have any other choice. It felt disrespectful to not even look upon Rocco at this point. _If he really is gone… I want him to know that I loved him. And… I owe it to Adrien, too. He can't be here, but I'll get him back. It'll be too late to reunite you, but you can at least rest knowing Adrien is okay._

Lucas didn't seem to know what to do, and in his confliction Juleka easily got close enough to peer inside.

And what she saw was not what Juleka expected at all. She had thought to see a gory, bloody mess. A tortured, battle-scarred pokémon who'd been through too much and just finally met one challenge he couldn't overcome. No, what sat inside the cylinder were dusty bones, splintered and decaying, and just enough scraps of desiccated flesh and fur to recognize who it was. In truth, it was only barely recognizable as a zoroark. Saying that it was Rocco was inference more than anything else, but Juleka knew better than to hope. Lailah had taken Adrien, she'd have had Rocco. The chances that the zoroark in the cylinder wasn't him was too astronomically low for Juleka to even consider.

She turned away and walked out the door.

* * *

"Juleka!" Juleka struggled to restrain her sob when her girlfriend's voice replaced the droning ring. "I'm so happy you called! Tell me everything that's going on, we've all been dying for an update!"

Try as she might, Juleka couldn't force more than a few ragged breaths out before her tears overtook her speech. Everything felt weighted. She felt like she was made of lead, sinking into the bed, stony and cold.

"Juleka?" Rose's voice changed. Juleka was just so happy to hear it, regardless of it's tone. "Juleka, what happened? What's wrong?"

Juleka sniffed. Rose's voice snaked into her heart like no one else's could. They curled up around her like a blanket, warmed her insides like a cup of hot tea.

"What happened?" Rose's voice was even softer, even more gentle. Juleka didn't even hear her words, just her voice. "Please, Juleka, tell me what's wrong."

Finally, Juleka choked out a response. "It's Rocco."

"You found him? What about Adrien?"

"No." Juleka shook her head, even though Rose couldn't see her. "We didn't find Adrien."

Rose was quiet for a long moment. "What about Rocco?"

"It was…" She fought off more sobs. "It was Lailah." She rubbed at her eyes, trying to clear away the tears. "Josh's mom, she… she fused him."

"Fused him? Like the one you told me about before?"

"She fused Josh and Rocco. We… we found Rocco's body."

A small gasp. "Juleka… Oh, Juleka…"

For the next long, long while, Juleka and Rose cried together. They didn't talk much – they didn't need to. Just hearing the other's breath, knowing they were right there, was enough. It made Juleka feel just a little less lonely.

The door opened, letting light into the dark room. Juleka turned away from it. "Hey, kiddo." Karen's voice washed gently through the room.

"Juleka? Do you need to go?" Rose asked.

Her throat was hoarse when she answered. "Yeah."

Juleka felt the bed shift when Karen sat dawn next to her. On the phone, Rose said, "Okay. Call me anytime you need to, okay? And even when you don't."

"Yeah."

"…Okay. Bye, Juleka."

"Bye."

Juleka didn't even bother ending the call. She just dropped the phone, letting it slide off her cheek and bounce onto the bed. Karen touched her shoulder gently. "Josh is recovering." She said. "And he's showing more physical signs of the fusion as time goes on. The doctors are confident he'll be fine, but a lot of what they're doing is speculating since they've never dealt with a fusion before." She paused for a long moment. "The notes we found from Lailah's lab in the Hideaway are helping, though, so we expect Josh will wake up soon." Another pause. Juleka felt like she should say something, but she just couldn't bring herself to.

Karen sighed. "And we're still looking into where Lailah's gone, and where your friend Adrien might be. Alya's been working non-stop on it. If you ever feel well enough to join us, we'd be happy to see you again." Juleka curled up tighter into herself. "Do you have any questions about anything?"

 _Why Rocco? Why Josh? Why us? When did these terrible things start and why?_ Juleka had many questions, but she knew Karen didn't have the answers to them. "Does Josh's dad know?"

"Yeah. He flew in this morning. Been at Josh's side since."

"Good."

"Did you want to see Josh?"

Juleka shook her head. She wasn't sure she could stomach it. She didn't want to see him bedridden, being fed through a tube, so thin and so warped.

Karen hummed gently. "Did you eat dinner?"

"No." Juleka admitted.

"You need to eat. You can't neglect yourself."

"I know."

"Come on. Let's get some food in you. It'll do you good."

Juleka didn't get up of her own power, but neither did she offer any resistance. Once Karen had pulled her to her feet, she stayed standing.

She followed Karen out of the Pokémon Center to a nearby café. Inside, she ordered a modest dinner – more a snack, but Juleka didn't feel she could stomach much and it was better than nothing. They sat down at the booth already occupied by Lucas and Nino.

Nino tried to smile at her, but it seemed like more of a grimace. Lucas did smile, but it was a sad, gentle one. The same one Karen wore. "Hey." He said. "How're you holding up?"

Juleka collapsed into the seat. "I've been better." She said.

He didn't seem to know what else to say, so instead he turned to Karen. "I got word from Anton."

"Tell me it's good news." Karen said.

"It is. There was a report of a sighting of a mega aerodactyl on the west side of the city."

"Any news on other fusion machines?"

"No. Other than the one in the hideaway and the one from a couple days ago, we don't know if any others exist. She must have a safe house, though, and that's the other good news. Anton found a little studio in the west side of the city, owned by a Mr. Gabriel Agreste."

"And the lab from before?"

"Also owned by Agreste."

"Good. Then that's our target."

Juleka perked up a little, and she saw Nino do the same, at the prospect of a solid goal in front of them. "How do you know this?" Nino asked.

Karen chuckled lightly. "Anton is one of the assistant police chiefs. It wouldn't be hard at all for him to find that information."

Nino furrowed his brow. "Hey, um, can I ask…"

"Of course. What is it?"

"Is the police in Shalour crooked?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean," Nino rubbed his neck sheepishly. He looked around for people who might overhear. "I just mean that you're a police officer, but you work at the Hideaway."

"Ah." Karen nodded. "I understand." She sighed and took a moment before answering. "I suppose, if you think the Hideaway is bad, we would seem like crooked cops to you. It's not everyone, of course, but there's enough."

"How does that work?"

"The Hideaway needed some way to punish people who got out of hand, otherwise it would degenerate into any other place of its kind. Obviously, we couldn't have that. The agreement we came to was that when the Hideaway gets proof of misconduct, the evidence is submitted to the precinct, and beyond what's immediately relevant to the case, we don't ask questions. Most cops only know that something is going on underground, not necessarily exactly what it is. It gives them deniability, and lets the Hideaway enforce the law – except, obviously, the one. The zero-tolerance policy, and the ability to enforce that policy, is largely what's kept the Hideaway the way it is."

"Oh. Good."

Lucas chuckled. "Since this is a Hideaway investigation, the Hideaway branch of the police force need to handle it. They can't cross streams too much, see?"

Juleka looked over to Karen. "So, you'll be going to the next hideout?"

"That's the plan. Now that we know where it is, we need to plan how to approach."

"Can we come?" Juleka asked.

Karen hesitated. "Now, kiddo, I don't think…"

"Yeah!" Nino said. "We want to help. Adrien might be there."

Lucas sighed. "Kids, that's really not the best idea."

"We know more about Gabriel than any of you." Nino said. "And we can fight. You know that. Let us help."

"I…" Karen said, "I don't want this to-"

"We'll be fine." Juleka said. "We've been through lots of bad things. We'll get through this, too. But let us help our friend."

Nino leaned forward in his seat. "It's just your branch, right? Then you could probably use more people, right? And they have megas. We know how to fight megas."

Karen shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't willingly allow you kids to walk into danger again."

"It's my best friend." Nino said. "Please? And I want to… I need to be the one… who tells him."

Juleka clenched her jaw. "We'll tell him together." She said. "But we need to be there for him."

Karen looked to Lucas, who held up his hands. "Don't look at me. These kids will be a better help in that kind of situation than I would, if we're being honest."

"You're the worst." Karen sighed deeply. "Fine. But you do everything I say, okay? No matter what happens, no matter what you see. If I tell you to close your eyes, you do. If I tell you to run, you do. Deal?"

"Deal." Nino said. "Thank you."

With that decided, the group made their way to the hospital (Juleka and Nino both were feeling a little better after getting some good news and some food in their bellies) where they met up once more with Marinette and Alya.

Joshua's door was closed, apparently with only his father and the nurses inside with him, and Alya paced restlessly in the hall.

They waited for almost half an hour, nurses trickling out one by one, until finally Joshua's dad poked his head out and told them they could come in, though doctor's orders said only one at a time.

One by one, they filed in to sit with Joshua and his dad and Juleka wasn't entirely sure why they were doing that, since Joshua was still not awake, but she didn't like the idea of not taking her turn, so she entered when Nino exited.

Joshua really had changed physically. His ears were too broad, and rested too high on his head, at an unsettling middle ground between human and canine. When she took his bony hand in hers, she noticed what she thought was blood in his fingernails, crusted against the cuticle. Closer examination revealed that it was just his nail turning red, like a zoroark's claws. The very roots of his hair, like his nails, were turning red as well.

"Thank you." Joshua's father said. "For taking care of my son."

Juleka set Joshua's hand down and hugged herself. "I didn't do anything. He still…"

"You did all you could. This isn't your fault."

"Still. I'm sorry I couldn't do more."

Joshua's father sighed heavily, wearily. "Lailah did this to him. You're blameless."

Juleka couldn't help asking the question. "Why? Why'd she do this?"

Another deep sigh. "I don't know. Lailah… isn't thinking clearly. She can't be. I knew she wasn't in a good place, but I never imagined she'd do something like this to our son." They sat quietly for a long few minutes. "So… what are you going to do? Are you still going after Lailah."

Juleka nodded. "Yeah. We are. We can't let her keep doing this, and we still haven't found Adrien."

"Adrien." Joshua's father repeated. "Josh would appreciate him being here. But don't put yourselves in danger."

"We already are. And if we run away, other people will be."

"You're very brave."

Juleka shook her head. "Not really. I only want to support my friends."

"That is brave." Joshua's father shook his head. "Did the doctors tell you what's happening to him?"

Juleka examined how Joshua's body had changed. "No. But I've seen the other fusions. It's not hard to figure out. I wouldn't understand the technical stuff, anyway."

"Yeah. They need to constantly feed him because his body is changing too quickly and using too much energy. That's why he's so thin. His body started eating into his muscles and fat before they managed to stabilize him."

"Oh."

"They think that when his growth slows down, he'll wake up again."

"Do we have any idea when that'll be?"

"I'm afraid not."

 _Then we need to make sure Adrien is here when he does wake up._

"He'll be fine." Joshua's father said. "He's a strong kid."

 _I know. Still._ Juleka clasped her hands together. _Mew, I don't know if you actually care about Josh, or even if you can hear me, but Josh thought you could. So if you accept prayers from non-believers… just watch over him._

Sending a prayer to a mythical pokémon seemed absurd to her, but she couldn't imagine any of the others thinking to do it, and Joshua himself wasn't in a state to pray. She hoped that a second-hand prayer on his behalf somehow brought him comfort.

Not knowing what else to do, she stood and took her leave. _We need to put a stop to Lailah. And we need to find Adrien. I should see Alya and Marinette. I'm sure they're already working on a strategy._


	11. Endophagy

Alya frowned at the studio building across the street. _Nondescript. Just like the other one. But the other was technically a small warehouse. This is a studio. Maybe this is Gabriel's place, rather than Lailah's, and she fled here when her hideout was taken out._

"Okay, kids." Karen said, "Marinette, when we get inside, I want you looking for that aerodactyl. It wouldn't fit easily in that building so it's probably either in a pokéball or out flying somewhere. The warehouse proved that y'all have really good reflexes, so keep an eye out for another break in. Otherwise, leave it to me unless she manages to get aerodactyl out of the ball, got it?"

"Understood."

"Nino, stick close to Lucas. You two will be looking for something that we can turn into the cops as evidence without incriminating the Hideaway." Nino and Lucas nodded. "Alya, you're searching for your friend Adrien, and any link to Gabriel, assuming he's not present. If he is, you're on him while I take Lailah."

 _That works._ "Can do." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The image of Rocco's weathered skeleton haunted the void behind her eyelids. She had to shake her head and focus on the target to try and ignore it.

"Juleka, stick close to me. I want you watching our backs. If it comes to a fight, join in where it looks like you're needed."

"Simple enough."

"Good. If we all know what we're doing, let's move out."

Alya followed Karen across the street to the door of the studio. _It's not a huge place. Aerodactyl wouldn't have room to fight in there, so most likely we're expecting another break in. But, of course, it's also likely that they have more megas._ Alya held Arcanine's pokéball too tightly. Karen looked at each of them and mouthed to Rhyperior, "Three, two, one."

The door broke open and they poured through.

Alya wasn't sure exactly what she was looking at, but she was damn sure that it wasn't a regular fashion studio. The fashion was definitely still there, but it was a strange contrast with everything else.

The studio itself was two floors, the ground floor and a basement. Alya warily eyed the stairs as she passed them by. _Someone could easily be down there._ In the center of the room was a large, cluttered worktable covered with all manner of colorful and expensive looking fabric right next to wires and a soldering iron (Alya thought that seemed like a fire hazard and noted approvingly that it was not plugged in) and circuit-boards and chunks of metal and a few pieces of paper with diagrams that Alya couldn't begin to understand with the little time she had.

On the wall was a huge cork board. Like the table, it was split fairly equitably between diagrams and phylogenetic trees and calculations and sketches of bright, happy dresses that Alya, with her limited fashion knowledge, deemed as quite out of season. _Seems like summer dresses to me. Just saying._

Past those, and a few odds and ends that had fallen to the floor, the room was impeccably clean. "Clear." Karen said. "Let's check downstairs."

Alya followed her down, keeping Arcanine's pokéball in hand, and peered into the basement.

If the upstairs was fashion studio-turned-lab, the basement was the exact opposite. A large cylindrical machine stood in the corner of the room, and though Alya could not glean its purpose from looking at it, she was at least able to tell it was not the same thing that was used for the fusions. For one, the tube was of a glass, or something like it, rather than metal. It was also standing upright instead of on its side. It also had a much larger diameter. In fact, it took up nearly the entire quarter of the room.

Nearby was a long desk filling up one of the adjacent walls. A computer sat on one end, and the rest of the space was filled with more machines both assembled and in parts. Alya couldn't see the wall under the stairs very well, but it looked to her like there was an assortment of cages like in the warehouse.

"Lailah Keaton!" Karen said, reaching the bottom of the stairs. "We're adding resisting arrest to your charges."

Lailah spun on her toes, grinning like a buffoon. Next to her, Gabriel Agreste, with his usual glacial countenance, looked down his nose at them.

It was all Alya could do to keep her promise to Karen and not act out of turn. Just seeing the two made her blood boil. Lailah, who abandoned her son, then kidnapped him, then murdered Rocco and fused Joshua with a pokémon. Gabriel, who orchestrated the attacks that terrorized Lumiose, whose actions very nearly resulted in not only her death, but the deaths of her friends – Marinette and Adrien especially, whose actions did kill many people on a few occasions – people less lucky than Alya and her friends. Both of them were unforgivable, irredeemable. And she hated them.

"H-hey!" A familiar voice cut through Alya's rage. "Help!" _Adrien._ She immediately identified his voice as coming from below her, in one of the cages lining the wall under the staircase.

Hearing him, nothing else mattered. No promise, no rationality, she just wanted to see him. She rushed down the stairs, a hair behind Marinette and Nino, while Karen and Lucas moved into the room to corner Lailah and Gabriel.

Alya nearly tripped over herself skidding to a stop in front of Adrien's cage. Marinette was the one who greeted him, though. "Adrien!"

"Marinette!" Adrien pressed up against the bars. His hands were tied behind his back, but he seemed healthy and strong. He wasn't excessively dirty, either. _Of course. His father had him; he wouldn't be allowed to live in such conditions._ "Nino! Alya! And Juleka, too, what are you doing here?"

"Finding you, of course!" Marinette exclaimed. She fiddled with the lock, but they wouldn't be getting through it without breaking it off. "Did you honestly expect us not to come after you?"

Adrien shook his head, his eyes were wide, terrified. "No, go now! You don't know what Lailah ca-"

"What I can do?" Lailah interrupted with a cackle. Alya glared in her direction. "Allow me to enlighten them, then! Now, who will be our first volunteer? Oh, I know! How about that beautiful Rhyperior? We'll get some great energy out of that one, I bet."

A furious yowl and the rattling of cages distracted her. Lailah frowned and rolled her eyes. "No, dear absol. You can't stand in every time we drain one of your friends."

Alya found the cage in question. "Plagg?" The grumpy absol hissed at her without much real bite. Even with as boisterous as he was being, Alya could tell he was extremely weak. In an adjacent cage, with a modified door, Ghenn the houndoom was blasting flames at the clear and sturdy door, interspersing the Flamethrowers with howling.

Gabriel observed this as well. "It seems the houndoom wants to participate as well." He said. "The absol is too weak. It needs to rest, but there's no reason to turn down more energy when it offers itself."

Lailah crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "Oh, fine." She said. "We'll do it your way. Party pooper."

"Like we'd let you." Marinette released Mawile and pulled back her sleeve.

"Wait, Mari, don't!" Adrien called, but Marinette had already begun the order.

"Mawile, mega evolve!" Alya saw the smirk on Gabriel's lips, and the light from Marinette's Key Stone reach for its pair coming from the Mega Stone, but neither of them found their match.

The tendrils of light curved towards the glass tube and hit the metal floor instead. Some indicator on a nearby machine lit up.

And then it was over in an instant, and Alya rushed forward to catch Marinette and stop her from collapsing. "Mari! What happened?"

Marinette held a hand to her head. "I… I don't know. I'm so tired all of a sudden."

"The energy emitted during mega evolution!" Adrien said. "That machine absorbs it! It could kill you if you get trapped inside!"

"What?" Lucas gasped. "How?"

Lailah laughed. "Because dear little Adrien is only half right. Infinity energy is indeed given off during mega evolution, but it also makes up the life force of people and pokemon. If we… _accidentally_ leave it running a little too long, well," she shrugged, "who can say what might happen?"

"That's sick." Alya said.

"Oh, I didn't even invent this little beauty! All credit for this goes to the Devon Corporation. I'm merely using it for purposes they might not necessarily have foreseen."

Mawile, who had also collapsed, struggled to her feet, and Marinette steadied herself with Alya's help. "I'm fine." She said. "It's not bad. I stopped the mega evolution when I realized something was going wrong, so it didn't get much more than I gave it."

Alya smiled. "That's my girl."

Marinette faced down the two. "Fine, then." She said. "We'll just beat you the old-fashioned way."

Lailah burst into another fit of laughter. Gabriel sighed. "I'm afraid," Gabriel said, "I can't allow you to interfere any longer."

"You don't have a choice."

"It was cute when you were simply protecting the city, but don't think that that experience makes you heroes." He held up a pokéball and released a lurantis. "You are children, dealing with things beyond your understanding."

Alya growled and rolled Arcanine's pokéball in her hand. Nino and Juleka both had pokéballs in hand as well, but between all the humans, the furniture, Rhyperior, Lurantis, and Mawile, the room was pretty crowded. _This is a tight quarters battle. Arcanine isn't the best at those. Better with Aipom._

By the time she switched pokéballs, Juleka had already stepped forward and released Poochyena. There was only space for one more pokémon at best, and Alya could tell that Marinette's mind was working, so she backed off and let her best friend work her magic. "All right, Tikki!" Marinette called out a second pokémon, and Alya smiled when Adrien's face lit up. _He's so happy to see her again. I wonder where Allie went. With Rocco gone, she's the only one of Adrien's pokemon unaccounted for._

Tikki gave Adrien a sweet smile and landed on Marinette's head, ready for battle. Alya exchanged a look with Nino. They nodded in understanding.

"Tikki!" Marinette said. "Silver Wind!" Tikki rose from Marinette's head and sent the attack for Lurantis, but it too easily blocked it with a swipe of its scythe.

Juleka wore a face of rage and determination that Alya had never seen on her before. "Fire Fang!" She said. Poochyena complied and entered the dance of attack and dodge with Lurantis.

Alya returned her attention to Nino and gave him the go-ahead. "Right." He said, releasing his croagunk. "Let's get this cage open." Croagunk aimed a Brick Break at the lock on Adrien's cage and broke cleanly through it. Alya had the cage open and was cutting through Adrien's bonds with her knife before Croagunk could even back up again.

"You alright, Adrien?" She asked.

"More than alright." He said. "But we need to get out of here. Even if you beat Dad, Lailah ca-"

An explosion interrupted him. Alya jumped out of the way of a Razor Leaf attack. "Shit!"

Gabriel stood stoically on the opposite side of the room. Lurantis was elegantly poised and hadn't even broken a sweat, while Tikki, Mawile, and Poochyena were clearly struggling to land a hit. Poochyena was battered and pinned under one of Lurantis' scythes. "Because you are my son's friends," Gabriel said, "I will allow you this chance to leave, and cease your interruptions of my plan. You may even take Adrien with you. That's what you wanted, is it not?"

Alya hated to admit she was tempted. She had Adrien back. Gabriel was right – that was what she wanted. She only wanted her friend. Stopping whatever Gabriel was up to was a secondary goal, if that much, as far as she was concerned. And with the three-on-one fight not looking good for her side, retreat may be a practical option, even if they didn't proceed to let Gabriel alone after the fact. _We shouldn't overreach. We've got Adrien back. We can regroup and come after him another day._

"Like hell!" Juleka yelled, catching Alya off guard. From Marinette, she would have expected that response, but from Juleka… "You're killing people! Killing pokémon! You tortured and murdered Rocco! You're not getting away!"

Poochyena struggled to his feet, against the pressure of Lurantis' sharp blade on his back. Once standing, he howled and began glowing. Lailah began cackling once more. "Perfect!" She screeched. "This will give us just what we need!"

Poochyena grew larger, forcing Lurantis to stumble back, and when the light scattered into glowing embers, they drifted toward the large tube and were absorbed like the light from mega evolution. Despite that, it seemed like from his end, Poochyena's evolution went off without a hitch, and a beautiful Mightyena stood snarling in his place. _It looks like if you're not actually in the tube, it can only absorb excess energy, not actually draw it from your body. So we shouldn't be in danger if we don't go inside._

"Get him, Mightyena!" Juleka growled. Mightyena turned to Gabriel Agreste himself and leapt with flames wreathing his fangs.

Gabriel's stoicism finally broke when he stumbled back in shock. Lurantis jumped to his aid, blocking the hit, but managing to get itself caught instead. Mightyena violently whipped Lurantis around, shaking his head and growling with fury.

"Juleka!" Marinette chastised. "Those aren't the kind of tactics we use!"

"We all knew Lurantis would protect him. Besides. What did he do when a mega houndoom was trying to do the same thing to Adrien? Huh?" Juleka cracked her knuckles. "What did he do when Adrien was caught in an earthquake that wiped out an entire block of Lumiose? Huh?" She turned back to Gabriel. "What did you do?!"

Karen grabbed Juleka by the shoulder. "That's enough!" She said. "You need to calm down!"

"They killed Rocco!"

Alya felt Adrien against her. He had clearly heard Juleka the first time, but that was the moment that it seemed like he couldn't stand on his own power anymore. He clung to her, and she held him upright. "They…" Adrien mumbled. "They… what?"

Alya patted his head, trying to console him. Juleka turned to him. Alya saw the tears in her eyes. "Gabriel gave Rocco to Lailah," Juleka hissed, "and she tortured him, then fused him with Josh."

"Josh? You mean…"

"She fused her own son. They don't deserve us being the bigger people."

Adrien couldn't seem to force any words out of his throat. He just clutched onto Alya with a death grip and stared numbly at the rest of them. _This wasn't how we were supposed to break it to him._ She closed her eyes, imagining the body she'd seen in the fusion machine. _But is there really any good way to do it?_

"Mightyena, that enough." Juleka said coldly. Mightyena thrashed one more time for good measure, then tossed Lurantis' charred and limp body at Gabriel's feet. "Everything they've done…" She said. Her eyes were dark with hate. Even Alya was a little frightened of her at that moment. "They deserve to hurt."

Mightyena's eyes reflected his trainer's. Mawile jumped in and blocked his path to Gabriel and Lailah. Marinette touched Juleka's arm gently. "Juleka… please. Calm down. I understand how you feel, but acting out won't help us. And hurting them won't make you feel better."

"We won't know until we try."

"Juleka." Marinette grabbed her more forcefully. Make her look into her eyes.

Juleka averted her gaze. "Fine. Mightyena, stand down." Mightyena looked about as happy about it as Juleka did, but he obeyed and sat at her feet.

Lailah laughed. "Oh, how precious! You think because you're so in control you're the good guys!"

Marinette turned to her. "Just because we don't hurt people doesn't mean we're the good guys." She said. "That you do is what makes you the bad guy."

Lailah gave a fake gasp of surprise. "Oh, no! Then I'm afraid I've been really really bad!" She smirked. "And I'm about to get even worse!"

"Lailah!" Karen yelled. "Keep your hands where I can see them!"

"Oh, that's just no fun!" She snatched a little device off the table. "But that's fine. I don't need to move to detonate the ultimate weapon."

"Ultimate weapon?" Marinette asked. Alya exchanged a look with Nino.

"Well, a fragment of it, but still enough to level this city!" She cackled.

"You're in this city!" Marinette said. "And so's your son! And your husband! Don't you care about them?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that! I already have someone taking care of my son." Alya froze. _No._ Adrien, if it was possible, held her even more tightly. _She played us. This is a distraction. Someone else is taking Josh right now. Might have already taken him… where's Aerodactyl?_ "I can't destroy the fruits of all my research, after all!"

"Lailah." Gabriel snapped, like a parent chastising a child. "We agreed the infinity energy is mine to use."

"Oh, fuck off, Gabriel. I only kept you around because you're loaded. But now my work is complete! I don't need you anymore!" She grinned manically, earning a scowl from Gabriel.

"You will not detonate that energy." He said.

"You will not detonate that energy." She repeated mockingly. "And just what are you going to do about it?" She waved the button in her hand. "But you're right." She said to Marinette. "It would be much easier to not have to do this. So, if you'd kindly step out of the way, I'll be making my leave."

"Fuck you!" Juleka growled, moving only to further block the staircase along with Mightyena.

Lailah tutted and shook her head. "I'm disappointed. Oh well! I guess I have no choi- ahh!" Lurantis, battered and broken, had powered through its injuries to deliver one powerful slash to Lailah's back. It dug in deep and Alya gasped when she saw the streak of crimson flow down her shirt, staining it. She dropped the remote and collapsed, howling in pain.

"You will not detonate that energy." Gabriel repeated, picking up the button. He looked around at the rest of them. "Do what you will with her. She's clearly outlived her usefulness." His eyes landed squarely on Alya, or more specifically on Adrien. Alya saw Adrien glare at his father. "And for the record, Adrien, I did not know what she had planned with Rocco, and I was not aware that she even had her son. I truly am sorry about what happened." His eyes flickered to Juleka. "Once your mother returns to us, we'll see what we can do about your friend." He released a pokémon, a claydol, and vanished, Teleported away.

Karen rushed to Lailah's aid, calling Lucas to help her. _What… just happened? What was Gabriel talking about? Adrien mom coming back? But she's dead. We visited her grave. Unless… the ultimate weapon. The story. He wouldn't try something like that, would he?_ She shook her head. _We can sort out the details later. Right now, Adrien is our concern. And Josh. Please be okay, Josh._

"Hey, dude." Nino said, touching Adrien's shoulder.

Adrien released Alya and wiped at his eyes. His expression was brittle, hard but fragile. "We need to go help Josh." He said. His voice shook.

Karen sighed. She had managed to restrain Lailah while Lucas called an ambulance. "Adrien is right. Lucas will take you kids back to the hospital. Do what you can, and we'll all meet up later at the Hideaway."

"Right." Marinette said. "But, Adrien, are you okay?"

"No." He said. He knelt down and pet Plagg and Ghenn. "But I can help. Can you guys explain exactly what's going on on the way? I'll share what I know, too."

"Of course. Let's get going."

They all returned their pokémon and filed into the truck. As Lucas pulled them out onto the street, Adrien turned to Juleka. "I've never seen you like that, Juleka. You alright?"

"No." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I just…"

"It's okay." Marinette said. "We understand." She took a deep breath. "Adrien, when we were looking for you, Josh helped us find our way."

"He brought us to your place in Cyllage City." Nino said.

"And we started finding fusions. Do you know about them?"

Adrien nodded. "I've seen a few. A sableye and vaporeon, a marowak and mighyena… and those were just the ones that worked."

"Yeah. We were leaving the Hideaway when a mega aerodactyl came and took Josh from us. We tracked it to a warehouse, but Lailah had already performed the procedure."

"She fused Josh?"

Marinette nodded. "With Rocco. Honestly, we don't know how much of Rocco's mind is in Josh's head, we just… found his body."

Adrien looked a little green, like he was getting sick. Truth be told, Alya felt a bit nauseous as well.

Alya met Marinette's eyes, and nodded to encourage her to finish. "It looks like," Marinette said, "that was what Lailah was after the whole time. A human-pokémon fusion. We don't know why yet, but with her caught now we hope to find out soon. Josh might know, too, when he wakes up."

Adrien was quiet for a while. When he spoke, it wasn't of Rocco. Alya didn't blame him. "Lailah caught me in the Hideaway and brought me to Dad. He's chasing after that old story about Geosenge Town, hoping that something under it will bring Mom back to life. Apparently, he needs a lot of infinity energy to pull it off. Lailah fused pokémon using the infinity energy, so he funded her in exchange for a way to harvest it. That's what the megas were: induced mega evolution for the sake of harvesting the infinity energy they gave off. He doesn't care how many people get hurt if it means getting Mom back."

"Do you have any idea where he'd go from here?"

"No. Lailah wasn't lying, though. The shard they got from the ultimate weapon is basically a huge battery. It stores the infinity energy, and if it's not handled carefully, it'll explode. That's what she said, anyway. Most of the energy they've gathered has been siphoned off to the real ultimate weapon, so maybe Geosenge Town? I never saw it for myself, but Dad said it was in tunnels beneath the place. He shouldn't have enough energy to bring someone back from the dead – if that's even possible – but there's plenty to destroy a city."

"Good thing Gabriel has other plans for it, then."

"Yeah." Adrien rubbed his neck. "Problem is, that much energy will take a city of lives to power. We can't let him keep doing this."

Alya sighed. "I agree, but Josh is our top priority."

Adrien's eyes widened. "Oh, no- I… of course! Of course, he is. I didn't mean to imply…"

"If Lailah really has taken Josh, we need to find out where. And fast."

Juleka leaned towards the open window to the cabin of the truck. "Lucas, any idea where she might take Josh, if he's not there?"

Lucas shook a little. "He's not there." He said.

"How do you know?"

"While you kids were talking, the radio announced it. The hospital was attacked by a mega aerodactyl."

Alya cursed. "Any idea where he might have been taken?" She asked, repeating Juleka's question.

He shook his head. "I don't know much outside the Hideaway."

Alya could practically see the lines connecting everything. She closed her eyes and focused. _Something he said. There's something we're missing. I know it'll be a clue._ "Alya?" Marinette said. "What're you thinking?"

"Hold on." Alya said. _The biggest question is where would aerodactyl take Josh? There's no other obvious safehouses for Lailah, so where could it go? Outside the city, maybe?_ She groaned in frustration. _No, there's something else. I know it. What am I missing? My gut is saying there's something about the Hideaway that we forgot about. Something we missed… the Hideaway. That's right. Lailah used the hosts, but she couldn't possibly get enough pokémon from just that for all those fusions we found._ "Adrien."

"Yeah?"

"Do you know where Lailah got the pokémon she used for her fusions?"

He shook his head. "Sorry. I know Dad paid for them, but I don't who supplied them."

Nino nodded and worried his lip. "I see where you're going with this. There's still that one loose end."

"What loose end?" Adrien asked.

Alya dared smile just a little. "The ledger. The names of the hosts that were taken were circled. But they were always circled on entries where the guest was either Diana or Robert Muldooney."

"So, these Muldooneys…" Adrien said. "They must have been working with Lailah."

"Exactly."

"So, it's possible that Josh is being brought to them." Marinette said.

"It's possible." Alya said. "And if he's not, they might be able to point us towards the people he was brought to."

"It's a lead, at least."

They all nodded. _It's a lead. It's something._ "Lucas." Nino said. "Do you know the Mulooneys?"

Lucas shook his head. "Nah, that ledger you had was of gold members. Common rabble like us barely ever even see them. I don't know much about the people on that floor."

"But we can use the computer, right? Find them in the system."

"Sure, with Karen's help, but they don't keep records of addresses or anything. Just a phone number or maybe an email address. And if they're with Lailah, you probably don't want to let them know you're coming."

 _Of course not. Damn it. Well, we'll get there. Let's see what we can get from the hospital first. Josh's dad probably saw it. Hopefully he's alright._

Alya jumped out of the truck bed before the truck had even totally stopped. Adrien and Marinette were right on her heels, with Juleka and Nino sticking closer to Lucas. It didn't take long for Alya to see the one she was looking for in the crowd outside the hospital. "Mr. Keaton!"

He turned around and approached Alya and her friends. "Kids, you're back! Josh was… It just came out of nowhere…"

"It was Lailah." Alya said. "She sent it to get him back."

"Lailah… so she's still-"

"No. Karen is taking Lailah to the police right now. We came back as fast as we could because Lailah mentioned she'd planned to get Josh back. Did you see which way they went?"

Mr. Keaton struggled for words. "It… flew that way." He pointed towards where Alya knew the coast was. _There's a Hideaway entrance in that direction, too. But she wouldn't bring him straight there. It'd be too obvious._

"Is there anything else, at all, that you can tell us?"

"It was… a mega aerodactyl. The scariest thing I've ever seen. It just broke through the wall and took him."

Marinette put her hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Keaton. Please, if you know anything else, let us know."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't know anything. I… barely even know what happened."

"We'll find Josh. I promise." Marinette looked him directly in the eyes as she made her promise. "He's going to be alright. And once we get him back, he'll be safe. Lailah's already captured. You won't need to worry about her anymore."

Mr. Keaton nodded. "Thank you, Ladybug." Marinette seemed slightly taken aback by the name of her old alter ego, but nonetheless smiled reassuringly and turned to the rest of the team.

"Alright. Lucas, can you…"

"Yeah, I can get you there. Hop in."

 _Back to the Hideaway. To think, not long ago we were breaking into that place. Now, it's basically our hideout. But what's going on on the gold floor? And what are we going to do about it?_


	12. Apoptosis

**A/N:** This chapter is where the Rape/Non-Con tag (on Ao3) becomes relevant, but in this chapter in particular its just a (very heavily) implied thing in the last few paragraphs. Keep an eye out for the "framed" line break (The one that looks like this first one, between the author notes and story proper. It's really ugly and obvious bc FFN formatting shenanigans) and stop there, if you don't want to read that.

And, fair warning to those readers, if you can't or don't want to read those last couple paragraphs in this chapter, Chapter 14 will probably be one for you to skip entirely. I'll summarize it for you in this author's note section of chapter 15, so you needn't worry. I only mention this now (rather than chapter 14 notes) because I don't want anyone to get the false impression that the Rape/Non-Con tag danger has passed after this chapter. (It will have passed after chapter 14, promise. Though it will obviously be mentioned past that particular chapter)

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Everything hurt. He felt so weak, so hungry, and on top of that, he had no idea what was happening.

He tried to remember. Chains. Screaming. Death by a thousand cuts. He scrunched his eyes as tight as he could. Adrien. Adrien screaming for him. Watching wide-eyed with terror as he was taken away. Something stopped him from fighting back, but he couldn't remember what.

His mother, looking down at him. "You're going to be famous!" She had said. He understood what she meant at the time, but it was fuzzy. He was a step towards something, but what? And why did every muscle in his body ache?

 _She kidnapped me. She threw me into the machine._ He felt nauseous. He remembered looking at who he was put into the machine with. He remembered the name. But thinking about it disoriented him. _That's so weird._ Wanting to piece everything together, he focused on that moment. _I was conscious at that time. Huh._ He remembered being chained, being cut, being helpless. He remembered struggling as his mother and the tawny fusion ( _Mightyena and Marowak. I remember when it was fused._ ) tossed him into the machine and threw… he remembered getting a weak glance at the one he was fused with when he was thrown into the machine after him.

He got a headache thinking about it. It felt like looking into and out of a mirror at the same time. The one he saw was him, but not him, and neither was the one who's eyes he was using. His body felt restrictive, weak, thin, heavy, cold, and warm all at the same time.

He did know one thing, though. That was definitely novel. He definitely was _not_ supposed to have a tail. _How the hell…_ He tried to open his eyes, but the light blinded him and made him squint. With great effort and a heavy groan, he slowly sat up, giving his poor, strange tail some relief from the weight of his body.

In his arm was a tube, feeding something into his veins. He traced the tube to the bag with the fluid someone was putting into him. _Lipid, Amino Acid, Glucose… they've been feeding me through this? How long was I out?_

 _Wait… I was fused, I know that. My body must have gone through changes. If my small intestine changed and probably stomach too, it might not work. Or… no, the other fusions did. H-1 ate relatively normally. So… my digestive system was non-functional while it was changing? Don't know exactly if I can put that in the past tense yet, but… it's a possibility._

 _But that doesn't explain the tail. What was I before the fusion?_ He cradled his head as he tried to think about that. _Why does that hurt? I remember other things just fine, but… maybe it's because I was two different people. My mind is trying to call on two conflicting memories at once and it gets confused. But I know I didn't have a tail before._

He looked around at the room he was in. He sat in a four-poster bed with beautiful, sheer drapes tied up to show the rest of the room. Now that he wasn't putting too much pressure on his tail, the bed was obscenely comfortable, and the soft blankets covering his legs did nothing to counter that. The rest of the room was warm, if garish. It was pretty, but it felt more like something he'd visit as a tourist attraction than a place to rest. Like when he went to visit Parfum Palace when he was younger.

Finding no one else in the room, he decided instead to examine his body. It felt too weird and strange to put off for any longer. _If I have two conflicting sets of memories, I'd expect to either have a problem recalling if I had a tail, or for it to feel entirely normal. But it isn't. What does that mean?_ He looked at his arms. Visually, the only odd thing was that they were a bit thin. His fingers were bony and his wrist was protruding a bit too much. _Disappointing, but not super surprising. With the changes my body must have gone through, I'd have needed to go through a lot of energy. And all that nutrition came from these bags, presumably, so I'm going to have to go back to the gym and eat well if I want my old physique back for real._ Still, something felt odd about it. Like it was definitely his arm, but also he was a bit in awe because he couldn't believe it was _actually_ his arm. _My nails are weird, too. Red or not, pick one._

 _Weird._ His eyes trailed to his belly, which had grown a thin layer of dark hair. _Really, how long was I out?_ He put a hand on it, feeling it on his fingers. Once again, he felt conflicted about whether it really belonged there. _Maybe for now we just accept my body how it is. Once I get a better idea of what happened we can sculpt it how I see fit. Hair can be shaved. I can bulk up. None of this is really a big deal, right?_

 _Weird how I'm reacting to it, though. Maybe one of me had hair and the other didn't. Or not much. Before the fusion._

 _But then there's the tail._ He tried to twist to look at it, but his muscles screamed in protest. He winced and gave up, deciding instead to just feel it out. He sucked in a breath when he touched it. _Mew, that's sensitive. I guess it is a new part of my body. Maybe it'll dull down a bit._ It wasn't long, he could tell that without even touching it. Maybe three or four inches max. _No idea if it's still growing, though._ And on his fingers he felt hair, or fur, or… something. _At least it's not a naked tail. That would look weird. Not that a tail on a… mostly human body wouldn't look weird._

A small creaking sound distracted him. He looked towards the door, pricking up his ears to get a better listen.

 _Ears. What?_ Distracted from his distraction, he reached up and felt his ears. They were normal, really, he was used to them. They weren't that odd, just a little small, for some reason. But then he thought maybe they were too big and not situated properly on his head and also… furry? Or hairy, he supposed.

 _Wait, humans don't have ears like that. So that must be something from the fusion. That's why it's disorienting for me._

 _Well, bright side, I figured out how to get around that weird dual past. Just think, do humans have this? No? Must be from fusion. Do zoroark have this? No? Then why the hell do I have a tail? Oh. Human and Zoroark. Duh._

 _Think… what about a fusion could lead to an entirely novel trait? One that neither of the fused people had? I guess…_ He tried to think of his mom talking to him about comparative physiology, but he never really understood the details too well in the first place, much less so many years later. _I guess… well, I'm not sure if this is even true, but if zoroark and humans have a different number of vertebrae, or they're separated differently, then something may cause a tail? Did any of the other fusions have novel traits?_

He thought back, and remembered his mother happily documenting several novel traits in different fusions. _Yeah. So, it's not improbable, I guess. Still._

 _Woah, that feels weird._ He shifted again, feeling in his groin something he definitely wasn't used to. Scared and curious, he snuck a peek underneath the blankets. _Okay, external is… mostly human. That's… something. But… oh, Mew… do I have a baculum?_

 _I guess there's not really any way to tell from looking, but… that might explain how it feels. Zoroark have baculum, so it's not too strange. I think it's the mix between the genitalia that feels weird. Not like the ears which is just off._

He flexed his toes, stretched a little – despite his muscles' protest – and refocused on his environment. _Okay, but body image aside, where am I? Is everyone else okay? They had to have come after me, I know them too well to assume they wouldn't. And what kind of place has a room like this?_

He closed his eyes, trying to recall. He remembered being carried away by the mega aerodactyl. That was the last he saw most of his friends. And the last he saw Adrien… he was locked away. In a cage, but healthy and well cared for. _His dad wouldn't let Mom touch him. That's good. Even if the others haven't found him yet, he's not in any danger. Can't say the same for his pokémon, though._

 _And wait… why am I naked?_ Suddenly very self-conscious, he moved to rifle through the drawers of the bedside tables. Because he was still hooked up to the parenteral nutrition bag, and he didn't fancy trying to take it out on his own nor did he even know if he could survive off of it yet, he had to work around it.

His ear twitched. The doorknob began to turn. His heart pounded in his chest. The door opened, and a stocky, graying man walked in, smiling brightly. Something in his heart jumped. He knew this guy was bad news.

"Ah, Joshua, correct? Finally awake! How are you feeling? Shall I fetch you anything? Please, lay down. You really are in no state to be getting up."

 _Joshua. That was one of my names, wasn't it? And… Rocco._ He furrowed his brow. _Am I either of them, now?_

"Oh, please do relax. You must recover fully!"

He cradled his head for a moment, and then he looked up at the man. Deciding there wasn't much option given his situation, he thought he'd at least mention what he was feeling. Bad or not – for whatever reason they intended – the man did seem to want him healthy. But when he opened his mouth to speak, no sound came out. It hurt his throat to even try, and when he forced it harder all he managed was a hoarse, ugly gurgle.

"Oh, that won't do. Please, don't try to speak. Your voice has clearly not fully recovered. We shall simply communicate another way."

He sighed and began moving his hands instead. It was all automatic to him at that point. He'd known sign language for forever, and all the time he spent talking with Adrien meant that the real limiting factor on him was his muscles. "Laying down is uncomfortable." He signed.

The man quirked his head. "I apologize, Joshua. I do not know sign language."

"Stop calling me that." He signed in response, though he knew it didn't matter.

"Ah! Can you write, perhaps? I shall fetch a pen and some parchment."

He watched as the man left the room and shook his head. No one knew sign language. _It was honestly kind of silly to think he would know it. People only ever learn it if they need it. Well, not only, but mostly._

He resumed his search and found a pair of boxers that he figured would do well enough and slipped them on. _Oh. Tail. These are clearly not made for tails._ After a bit of thinking, he ended up turning them around and slipping his tail through the fly. They fit him awkwardly, being up on his waist rather than his hips, and being shaped a little weird since they were backwards, but he was at least more comfortable being covered up.

The man returned and handed him a pen and a clipboard with paper on it. "Now, let's try once more. Is there anything at all I can do for you, Joshua?"

He scribbled on the paper. "Different name."

The man eyed it curiously. "Rocco? Perhaps."

He shook his head. It just didn't feel right. Neither name truly fit him. He wasn't either one, but both, at the death of both individually. The man frowned. "Well, what shall I call you?"

He frowned as well, staring at the paper. _I don't know. What is my name? The fusions had names, but… a string of numbers doesn't feel right, either. Nothing does._

The man was a bit put off by him not knowing how to answer. "Well, you're a fusion, so perhaps a combined name? Rocua? Joshco?"

He stuck out his tongue. _That's so stupid._

The man chuckled. "No fake names, then? You used to shorten your name to Josh, correct? I assume you don't like the sound of Rosh, so how about Ross?"

 _Ross._ He sighed. It was a name. He had no name, truly, but it was at least a name. _We can at least work with it. Maybe from there I'll find something._ He nodded consent for the name. _Ross works. For now, if nothing else._

"Splendid! Now that that is cleared up, please let me know if you need any assistance. And please do lay back down. You're meant to be recovering!"

Ross scribbled some more on the paper. "Laying down is uncomfortable." When the man asked him why, he wrote, "Tail."

"Ah, I see. Well, I'm not sure there's much I can do about that. I would recommend trying to find a way around it, however. You do, after all, have a tail now."

Ross sighed. _Of course._ Moving on, he just pointed to the tubes in his arm. "Please leave those in for just a little longer. Now that you are awake we can try reintroducing you to solid foods, but until we are sure that your body can digest them, we shouldn't have you off of that for long."

Ross nodded. _Makes sense. Can't really complain, can I? Am parched, though._ He mimed drinking water for the man, who hurriedly went to fetch him a glass. While he was gone, Ross wrote, "Who are you? Where am I?" on the paper. Once he had received his glass of water, he showed the man the paper.

"Ah, of course! You must be very confused. Rest assured you are very safe. My name is Robert Muldooney, and this is my house! Your mother was very insistent that you receive only the finest care."

 _You work for Mom._ He narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth slightly.

"I assure you, my wife and I mean you no harm. Believe me, Lailah is not someone we'd want to cross, even if we did!" _Wait… he's… scared of her._ Ross blinked, unsure about this man. The name raised a red flag as being related to their search for Gabriel and Lailah, but if he was doing whatever he did under threat, Ross wasn't sure what to think. _I can definitely believe she'd threaten him, though._

He watched Robert for a while, staring him down. Eventually, he decided that even if Robert was lying, it didn't really matter. _I need to get out of here eventually. But I need to recover first, or I'll never make it. Unless, of course, Gallade were here. But if he allows me Gallade, then I guess I'm safe enough trying to recover a little more here before leaving. Just long enough to get off these tubes. Everyone must be worried._ "Pokémon." He wrote on the paper.

Robert fidgeted. "Ah, I'm afraid we don't have your pokémon. I imagine either your friends or the police have them at the moment. My apologies. I know they would be a comfort. _Excuse, or is he telling the truth?_

Ross sighed and wrote another word on his paper. "Clothes."

"Right away, Ross." Robert said. "We've left clothes for you in this drawer here." He indicated the one just out of reach, against the wall. "And there is underwear in the bedside table. Apologies, by the way. It must be frightening to wake up naked in an unknown bed. Alas, we did not want to invade your privacy while you were asleep, and as you know, there's nothing on under the hospital gowns."

 _Another possible lie or excuse. I still don't trust him, but he does at least have his story together._ Though, if he were honest, aside from the moment he realized it, the nakedness didn't occur to him much throughout the endeavor. _Must be the zoroark part of me. Used to not wearing clothes._

"Oh!" Robert exclaimed suddenly. "You must be starving! I will have something prepared immediately. Just a moment!"

Ross watched him leave and sat befuddled. _This is where Lailah sent me? After what she did?_ He shook his head. _Unbelievable. But, Muldooney is related to everything else, I know that. I definitely remember his name from when we were looking through the ledger. So, he's a gold member of the Hideaway. That, and my friends already have a lead. They should come for me soon. I just need to be patient and get well enough to leave with them when they do come._

 _If he's a member of the Hideaway, and is being used by Lailah, I'm probably still in Shalour. That's good._

A floorboard creaked outside, and Ross' attention snapped to it. The footsteps sounded quiet, like they were sneaking about, but also light. He thought maybe it was someone small. _A kid?_

The doorknob turned once more, and a little girl with pigtails poked her head in. When she saw that he was looking, she yelped and retreated in a hurry. _What a cute girl. I hope she's in a better position than I am._ He listened for her footsteps but heard nothing. He smiled, knowing she was hiding just behind the door.

After a minute, she opened it once more and looked in. He gave her a smile. She was just a child, after all. No matter what the adults in the household were getting themselves into, she was innocent. She took a hesitant step into the room.

As he couldn't speak, he just smiled and waited. He expected her to comment on his ears, or the tube giving him nutrition, but instead, the first thing she said was, "Your skin is dark."

He resisted the urge to laugh and also the urge to groan. _Has she never seen a black person before? I'd think the ears would be more interesting._ Still, he nodded in agreement. _Yeah, kid. It's dark._

"Did your mommy do that to you?"

 _Which part? I mean, technically I suppose she did the skin color too but that's an entirely different thing._ He shook his head, and pointed to his ears, trying to convey to her that that was what Lailah had done to him.

"Oh." She said.

The door opened again, and a woman came in. "Amy, what did I tell you about bothering our guest?" She asked in a stern voice.

Amy shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "Not to."

"So what should you be doing?"

Amy sprinted past the woman, out the door back into the rest of the house. The woman sighed. "Apologies for my daughter. I'm Diana, Robert's wife. When he told me you were awake, I had to come see for myself."

Ross tilted his head, examining her. She gave off the same vibe as her husband. Something inside him told him not to trust her. _Though, is that just something I inherited from Rocco, or is it a legitimate worry?_ Ross remembered the fighting rings a little too clearly. He remembered what the people in charge did to him. It made it hard to trust, bad feelings or not.

"Yes, he mentioned your voice doesn't work, yet. I just wanted to fill you in on some things." He arced an eyebrow. "Robert isn't the best with the details, so Lailah gave most of your care orders to me." Diana pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket. "Now, I suspect you're curious about your recovery." He nodded. "The exact times are all Lailah's guesswork, but I hope it gives you an idea of what we're going to be doing."

She cleared her throat. "So, from when you wake up, we're supposed to only feed you liquids and very soft foods. That means applesauce and mashed potatoes for today at least." _Eugh._ "And I'm afraid even after that you're only going to have bland foods for a while." _At least it's something in my stomach._ "Lailah says we should listen to you and use our intuition for when exactly to shift your diet. If you feel healthy enough tomorrow, we'll give you just a little bit of solid food, and based on your reaction to that, we'll continue from there. Lailah said you should be back on an unrestricted diet more quickly than an average person would. That's assuming, of course, you can digest anything we feed you." _Naturally._ "And once you're on solid foods, you can get up and move around."

Ross scribbled a question on his paper. "Work out?"

Diana thought about it for a moment. "I'd take it easy at first. Once you're moving, we'll see how it goes, okay?" He nodded. "Good. And remember. While you're here, make yourself at home. I know your relationship with Lailah is strained," _She fucking murdered me._ "but you're here to recover, and we want you to be happy while you're here."

* * *

As much as he hated to admit it, Ross really did have a decent time with the Muldooneys. He counted a week go by and he was on a regular diet and was just beginning to get back some of his muscle. The latter was obviously a slow process, but he found that a lot of his muscle came back on its own just from moving again. He was definitely leaner than he was, but it wasn't an unhealthy lean. And, if he might say so himself, he still looked good.

And true to their words, the Muldooneys treated him well. They fussed over him a bit, especially in the beginning, and little Amy was nervous around him, but by the end of the week, playing with her was most of his exercise. "Kitty-cat man has fluffy ears!" She said once from atop his shoulders.

He laughed. _More like puppy man, kid. I'm canid._

Still, everything must come to an end, and with no sign of his friends and the threat of Lailah coming for him, he knew he had to get out soon. He snuck around the corner, spying Robert and Diana talking at the coffee table. "He should know." Diana said. "She's still his mother." Ross stopped. _They're talking about Lailah? What should I know?_

"But once he finds out, nothing will keep him here!" Robert replied. _Already there, dude._

"What's keeping him here now? He's almost fully recovered. You and I both know it's only a matter of time before he takes off on his own."

"While he thinks Lailah's still free, leaving on his own would put us in danger. He wouldn't do that to us." _You clearly overestimate how much I care. Besides, I'll just find my friends and we'll camp out nearby. You guys would be the perfect bait for her. But… she's not free? Then they got her. Good._ He felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He was far from safe, that much was clear, but that was one danger he was happy to be rid of. "But just in case, I've already arranged the deal. Talbot will be here tonight."

"Tonight?!" Diana exclaimed. "And you didn't warn me?"

"It was a rushed thing. He wanted to see Ross before any deal was made, and this was an opening in his schedule." _Deal? He wanted to see me? I don't like this._

Ross, sensing the danger he was in, began backing away, but he unexpectedly bumped into someone. "Oof!" A little voice exclaimed.

Ross covered his mouth. He still couldn't speak very well, but he did all he could to convey his apologies to Amy.

She smiled brightly at him and let him help her to her feet. "It's okay." She said. Ross smiled at her, then noticed what she was looking at. _Shit._

"Oh, Ross." Robert said. "I didn't see you were there. You know, you really should let us know where you are. Maybe knock on the doorframe?" He grabbed Ross' arm a little too tightly. Ross resisted a little. He didn't want to alarm Amy any more than Robert did. "Amy, it's past your bedtime. Go on up to bed."

"But… um… may I please get a glass of water first?"

Robert forced a strained smile. "Of course, darling. Diana!"

Diana came out with a glass of water and ushered Amy away. Robert pulled Ross into the living room. Ross growled. "Oh." Robert said. "This is not what I had planned. Oh, this won't do at all." He wrestled Ross' hands behind his back, and because Ross was still not at full strength, he couldn't break free. _Damn it. Damn it!_ He felt some kind of cord be tied around his wrists, restraining him. Robert sat him down in a plush chair and muttered to himself as he paced, ignoring Ross' weak vocalizations.

When Diana returned, Ross had a relatively good idea of what was going on. _He keeps going on about some kind of deal with Talbot. I don't know the name, but based on what I know about the Muldooneys, I'm guessing that their work with Lailah wasn't a one-time thing. She probably threatened them, true, but these people are traffickers. They supplied Lailah with the pokémon for all her fusions. And now that Lailah's out of the picture, they're selling me. Great._

"I've put Amy to bed." Diana said. "When's Talbot due to arrive?"

"Any moment now!" Robert exclaimed nervously. His energy was infectious. _As if I wasn't already amped at the idea of being sold into slavery._ Ross couldn't control his tail – now about ten inches long (it had grown fast, and painfully, but the pain had, at least, died down, so Ross figured it wouldn't get much longer) – from lashing.

As if on cue, a knock on the door echoed throughout the house. "Oh, brilliant." Diana said. She went to answer and brought in another man with her when she returned.

Talbot, as the Muldooneys referred to him, was a tall, well-kept man. He made no effort to hide how absurdly rich he was, in fact Ross thought him a bit of a show-off with his suit and his hair that was too stuck in its styling to care about what silly things like gravity said about it. It was an eccentric rich, as if he was trying to be hipster but still wanted to let everyone know he could and would wear a suit literally made of money.

Ross hated him immediately. And not just because he was about to be sold to the guy.

"Ah," Talbot said, "and this is it, hm?" He leaned in close to inspect Ross. Ross scrunched up his nose, bared his teeth, and growled. "Hoo, feisty. That's good. And it's in good shape, too, considering the circumstances."

"Yes!" Robert said. "Naturally. As you can see, we provide only the finest service!"

Ross felt like he was in a contest. The old-fashioned ones that were just about putting a pokémon on a pedestal and staring at it and prodding it and scoring them on how closely they met the stupid criteria. Talbot reached out and pulled his bottom lip down, examining his teeth. Ross tried his best to bite his finger, but Talbot pulled out of the way just in time. _Damn._ After a while, Talbot turned to Robert. "Strip it, if you please."

 _What? Hell, fuck, get off me!_ Ross growled at Robert and as they struggled he even managed to land a few good kicks to Robert's face, but in the end his pants were carried away by Robert, who nursed his cheek and looked embarrassed. Ross snarled and refused to let any sort of shame overtake him. Naked or not, he'd face Talbot down. "Shirt, too." Talbot said

"But, sir, we can't untie his hands." Diana said.

"So, cut the shirt. Don't worry, I'll reimburse you for it."

Diana frowned and picked up a letter-opener from the coffee table. She hesitated when Ross growled, but eventually came down on him and sliced through the sleeves of his shirt. Because of his struggling, he earned a few nicks on his shoulders, but again, in the end, the shirt came off.

"Oh, yes. It'll do nicely." Talbot handed Robert a briefcase. "The agreed upon price." He then pulled out a thick wallet and tossed another few bills at Robert. "And a small tip. I'll take the fusion now."

"Of course, Mr. Talbot! He's all yours!"

Ross had no hope in the struggle against Talbot. He couldn't overpower Robert, or even Diana, and Talbot was younger and stronger than both of them. In truth, once they were outside, Talbot just picked Ross up and threw him into the back of the truck parked in front of the door as if he were nothing more than a skitty.

His weakness was exceptionally irritating. So much so that Ross was almost more angry at himself for not being able to do anything as he was at the Muldooneys and at Talbot for orchestrating the situation in the first place.

But he couldn't do anything, and he ended up waiting in the dark, bounced around by the moving truck, for a long time. _The others must be close by now. They've probably already got Adrien, and are on their way. Yeah. I've got nothing to worry about._

He repeated that to himself until the truck finally rolled to a stop and he heard the cabin door open. The door opened, and Talbot came in and hefted him up onto his shoulder and carried him down into some building. _A garage? Is this Talbot's home?_ Ross growled and spat and bit at Talbot, but nothing he did earned any response.

He was forced to give up his efforts to bite his captor when Talbot started descending a staircase, bouncing Ross too much on his shoulder and hurting his stomach. He coughed at the stench of the basement. It smelled like a worse version of the Hideaway's common room. Just musk and sweat and sex, but with the sting of blood and fear added for effect.

He was thrown unceremoniously to the ground. Talbot hummed as he attached cuffs to Ross's ankles. Once that struggle was done, it was simple for him to attach two more to either wrist before undoing the cord keeping Ross' hands behind his back.

"You're going to be famous, you know." Talbot said. Ross froze. The words hit him too deeply, echoed too viscerally. "I never thought I'd have a fusion in my collection, but here you are! Oh, you're going to be so loved."

~~~~FRAME~~~~

* * *

~~~~FRAME~~~~

Talbot circled around him and pulled a chain. At once, Ross' feet were swept from under him, and he was suspended in the air by his hands and feet. He was spread out, arms up towards the corners of the room, and his legs spread eagle under him. He was standing, but the chains pulled his legs apart into a splits.

"But, I can't let anyone else use you just yet." Talbot said into his ear. Ross shivered. A hand reached around and pressed into Ross' chest. He felt Talbot's body press against his from behind. "I have a reputation, you know." The hand was joined by it's pair, this one on his waist. Talbot's voice in his ear made his skin crawl. "And where would the fun be in not partaking, anyway?" The hand on his chest trailed slowly downward, through Ross' belly hair, and snaked down to his crotch.

Ross didn't know what to do. He couldn't fight. He couldn't even plead. All he could do was growl and whine and close his eyes and pray for everything to end. He yelped when his ear was tugged down and bit. He cried when he felt Talbot wrench his tail out of the way. He whined pitifully when his chains were loosened and he dropped hard onto the cold concrete floor.

Even then, when his chains were loosest, when he had the most freedom of movement, all he could do was curl up into himself as Talbot hummed up the stairs and closed the door behind him, locking Ross in with, he saw, a collection of other pokémon.

And then, in that room where he needed faith the most, he doubted.


	13. Dirge

"No word yet on the Muldooneys." Lucas reported. Juleka sighed. Adrien's hand on her back comforted her.

"We'll find him." Adrien said.

"I know." Juleka leaned into Adrien, missing his presence.

The mood of the team had only become more and more muted as days passed. They had been all fired up that first night, but after entering the Hideaway and finding nothing useful, they had to resort to leaving the search to Karen and the police.

That alone didn't sit well with Juleka. With how long it took the police to figure out Gabriel was behind the attacks in Lumiose, she didn't trust her friend's life with them one bit. But she sat quiet and compliant. Patiently waiting for word that she can do something to help.

They had reported back to their classmates the morning after the raid on Gabriel's studio, but despite getting Adrien back, no one could celebrate. What happened to Joshua was too great a sacrifice, and it was all they could do to stop more of their classmates from ditching Lumiose and joining them for the search effort.

Juleka hadn't slept much. Mightyena kept her company, but even with him by her side every time she closed her eyes she saw Rocco's bones and Joshua mutated and unconscious and she couldn't fall asleep. When she did, she awoke with a start from nightmares.

Marinette, like her, was running on fumes. Juleka saw her try so hard to keep everyone optimistic, but no matter what Marinette said, nothing worked. Marinette was their de facto leader, being Ladybug, and she rose to the occasion. Unfortunately, the stress of leadership was nothing to scoff at. Juleka wished she'd take a nap. But, she figured, Marinette probably couldn't sleep any better than she could.

Alya was wired. Juleka figured her blood was basically just caffeine at this point. But she didn't rest as she searched for a clue. She pored over everything at their disposal. She investigated the Hideaway, interviewed people inside, even searched the gold floor with permission from Karen, but still she came up empty.

Nino was shaken. It was Lucas' support, as well as Adrien's and Alya's that kept him going. Juleka could only hug herself and sink deeper into her thoughts as she watched Nino on the verge of panic. While Alya grew more and more determined, he grew more and more worried.

And Adrien helped where he saw the opportunity. He assisted Alya a lot in searching for clues. He spent some time looking over and catching up on all the information they had and adding his own information to the mix. He grabbed their hands and helped them forward when he saw that they couldn't take the step on their own. When he needed help he turned to Lucas and Karen more often than not, as he didn't want to worry the rest of them. He tried so hard to be strong.

But days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to a month. A month turned into spring, and Juleka couldn't bear watching the trees flower. She saw the same pattern as when Adrien had left, seemingly an eternity ago. When the sun shone bright and flowers surrounded them, Juleka sunk into her own mind.

 _He's not coming back._ She thought. _We're never going to find him._ She called Rose often, but after a while even that couldn't lift her spirits. She missed her girlfriend. She missed Rocco. She missed Joshua. She had Adrien back, and she was thankful for it, but there was just so much left undone. _We haven't found Gabriel, either. We need to make a decision at one point. I don't want to abandon Josh any more than the rest of them, but if Gabriel is doing something in Geosenge Town we need to stop it as soon as possible._

Marinette was the next one to fall out of hope. Juleka just pictured the end of every class, when Marinette would check her phone. It was ritualistic, religious, but she didn't truly believe there would be a message. Likewise, she continued through the motions. She ran herself ragged until no one had any more ideas, and then she ran some more just for the sake of it. But she didn't believe. Her eyes betrayed her. They were sad, defeated, like they were before Alya had begun this quest. But she was their leader, and if she lost hope it was a blow to morale, so she kept up the façade. Juleka couldn't imagine how exhausting that must be. She asked Marinette to train with her, since her battle with Gabriel showed her just how much she needed to grow and it was, at least, something productive for both of them to set their minds on.

Lucas was next. He joined Marinette in recommending that maybe they should focus on Gabriel. Come back to Joshua once Gabriel was taken care of. "Leave it to the police." He said. "Just until we take down Gabriel. He could be doing anything right now."

Then the days grew warm, almost balmy, but the sea breeze of Shalour cooled Juleka's skin. Nino's resolve weakened. "We can't do anything." He said. "Without any new leads to follow, we're stuck. We may as well follow up on Gabriel, right? Maybe we'll find something that can lead us to Josh."

"We have a lead." Alya spat. "The Muldooneys. We just need to catch them."

Nino just sighed and joined Marinette and Juleka in their training. He'd whisper to them sometimes. He worried for Alya. She was the most distressed, strangely, after Adrien left, and aside from perhaps Adrien himself she was the most distressed about Joshua. Juleka thought that maybe it was just in her nature to care and to never give up on someone.

But the weeks passed. Juleka was homesick. She hadn't thought their journey would take them away from Lumiose for so long. Maybe a month, she thought. A month and a half max. But they were flirting with June and they were still in Shalour. She just wanted to hold hands with Rose again. She wanted to go to class. She wanted Mrs. Bustier to smile and say she was proud because she'd done well on a test. She didn't want to chase echoes anymore. Even the success of finding Adrien was bitter and hollow.

But Adrien and Alya were a tag-team of optimism and a coterie of hope. Neither of them lost the spark in their eyes, and they only encouraged each other. "Have the Muldooneys come back to the Hideaway since we caught Lailah?" Alya would ask.

"No," Karen answered. "They're being careful. They knew Lailah was associated with us, so they probably went underground when they heard she was captured."

"So, they haven't come back, but they were selling pokémon, right?" Adrien would say. "So, there's probably more than just Lailah within the Hideaway that bought from them."

Juleka shook her head and left to find Marinette and Nino. They'd already been through every angle. The Muldooneys? Gone. They couldn't even find an address for them in the police database. Anyone else Joshua could have been taken to, with Lailah out of the picture? No idea. The aerodactyl? Not a trace of it since the hospital. Adrien was sure that Gabriel had no use for Joshua, and if he was telling the truth about using the ultimate weapon to bring back Adrien's mother, then Juleka was inclined to agree.

But strangely enough, it was Gabriel himself that gave them the lead they needed.

In a fit of frustration, after Marinette once again suggested they may find something with Gabriel if they went after him first, Adrien got on the phone and called his father's cell. No one thought there was any chance of him picking up, but they were all shocked into a stupor when Gabriel's voice sounded from the speaker. "Adrien? I… hadn't expected this. Why are you calling?"

"Dad," Adrien said, "I need your help."

"No, I will not give up on this plan."

"That's not it."

The line was quiet for a minute. "What do you need?"

Adrien looked to everyone around him for support. "Do you have Josh?"

"Josh Keaton? No. I haven't seen him since your photo shoot last year. Is this about what Lailah said?"

"Josh was in the hospital from the fusion when we fought in your studio. When we got back, that aerodactyl had broken in and taken him."

"So that is why you haven't pursued me."

Adrien worried his lip. "Yes. But please, put Mom aside for just a moment."

"Very well. I will tell you what I know."

"Really?" Adrien blinked in surprise. "I didn't think…"

"If you've resorted to calling me, I'm your only remaining lead, which means you all would soon be coming after me regardless. There's nothing to be gained from hiding what I know." Juleka heard a heavy sigh. "And I do hope for his safety as well. I know you care about him. Believe it or not, Adrien, I'm doing what I am for you, too."

Adrien's jaw flexed as he clenched it. "So, what can you tell us?"

"It was, as I'm sure you know, my money that bought the pokémon for those ridiculous projects of hers. As such, I know where the money went. Robert and Diana Muldooney provided the bulk of Lailah's subjects, and they were sufficiently under her thumb that sending Josh to them would not be outside the realm of possibility. I, of course, didn't know about her plan – neither fusing Josh nor the bomb threat, so I can't say for certain, but as the Muldooneys live outside the city and, if I'm reading Lailah's charts correctly, outside the blast radius, it seems likely."

"We've been looking for the Muldooneys."

"You have? I'm impressed."

"But we couldn't find where they live. All we have is a phone number and if we used that we'd just warn them we're coming."

"You're right. Luckily for you, I have the address. Let me just find it and I'll send it to you shortly."

Adrien sighed. "Thanks, Dad."

"Of course. And one more thing. Lailah estimated Josh would recover within a few weeks. It's been long enough that I doubt he's at the Muldooneys anymore."

"So where would he have gone?"

"Certainly not escaped, as he's not with you now. If I were to guess, I'd say he was sold."

"Who else do the Muldooneys do business with?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea. That is up to you to discover."

Adrien closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Good luck, Adrien."

He laughed awkwardly. "I'd echo the sentiment, but…" His phone started beeping, signaling that the call was ended.

They all stared at each other. Finally, Alya spoke. "I cannot believe that worked."

"He could still be lying." Nino said. "He knows that the longer we spend looking for Josh, the longer before we come for him."

"True." Alya said. "But I'm inclined to believe him. He seemed surprised when we called out Lailah, for fusing him in the first place, and he obviously disapproved of her plan to blow up the city."

"Because he needs the energy." Nino said. "Not because she'd be killing an entire city."

"Can't it be both?" Adrien asked. "I'm not defending him, but he does just want to bring Mom back. He'll do what he needs to do to get that but levelling a city or fusing Josh is totally unnecessary."

"But he'll do what he needs to do to bring your mom back." Nino countered. "Including throwing Josh under the bus if it buys him time to get his plan in gear."

Marinette stepped in. "Nino's right, but I don't think we can afford to ignore this. At the very least, we find the address he sent us. If we find clues toward Josh, we'll follow them. If we don't we go after Gabriel. Sound reasonable?"

"It could be a trap."

Alya scoffed. "We're practically experts at walking into traps. I'm with Marinette."

"Me too." Adrien said. "We have to at least look."

Nino crossed his arms and tapped his foot. "Jules?" He asked. "What do you think?"

Juleka hugged herself. "We need to get moving one way or the other. If we agree to go after Gabriel if we can't find anything on Josh, I'm in."

She saw Alya inhale deeply, a steadying breath. _She doesn't like it. But what other choice do we have? We can't let Gabriel keep going. We can try to pick up the trail after, if we need to._ Nino sighed. "Alright. Let's let Lucas and Karen know."

Alya worried her lip. "I'm playing devils advocate a little here but are you sure we should rely on those two so much? We started out this quest on our own. We fought the megas on our own. And one way or another the Muldooneys are related to the Hideaway. How much can we really trust them?"

Nino crossed his arms. "Karen is a police officer. Getting her to Gabriel would be the fastest way to clean up this mess and getting her to Josh is the fastest way to get the Muldooneys, or whoever else has him. Trust her or not, she makes our job easier." He huffed a little. "But I trust her. She believes in her principles, and I think we have similar stances, don't you? Lucas is the same. He just wants the Hideaway to do well."

Alya shook her head. "As much as I want to believe the Hideaway is good, this is getting out of hand. The Muldooneys sell pokémon? At least partly out of the Hideaway. Even if the Hideaway has nothing to do with it, they're seriously trying my patience. First Lailah, now this? It's either propagation or negligence. Before we knew for sure what the Muldooneys did was one thing, but how can the Hideaway let something like that go on within their walls?"

Marinette sighed. "But Karen and Lucas are helping us."

"For how long? I was content to let the Hideaway do their thing, but if they harbor people who would sell Josh for… Arceus knows what. They either need to rehaul their system, or they need to go down."

Marinette furrowed her brow. "Honestly, you were the last one I expected to turn against the Hideaway."

"Like I said, I want them to be good. I thought they were. But obviously there's a flaw, and with something like this, a flaw is dangerous. I'm not saying they need to be perfect. If it was just Lailah I would have brushed it off. But we're learning about guests who are in some really shady business and I'm starting to doubt. One is an error, two is concerning. All I'm saying is that unless something is done, they're getting close to the tipping point for me."

Adrien hummed. "It was definitely a… surprising place. But I don't think the Hideaway is bad. I did a lot of asking around when I got there. Before Lailah found me, that is. Everyone I met was really nice and respectful."

"But," Nino said, "we also shouldn't judge the whole system based on what we're finding."

"Why not?" Alya asked. "We were going to when we first found the place."

"You didn't see the inside as closely as I did. The regular members and the higher members are totally segregated. A problem in one doesn't indicate a problem in the other, and as far as we know, the only corruption was within the gold membership."

Adrien nodded. "Though to be fair, I haven't even heard of who's a platinum member. They could be anyone, doing anything."

"That's exactly the problem!" Alya hissed. "I know that, and that's the problem. It's why the regular members are good. There's transparency. The staff, the other members, they all know each other. They all watch each other. But the gold and platinum members? Hell, we've never even seen them!"

Juleka looked between the rest of them for a while before finally asking, "So, you think because of that we shouldn't trust Lucas and Karen?"

"Not exactly." Alya said. She pushed her hair back with a huff. "I'm just saying we should be careful. If we get much more involved than we are, it's going to be hard if we need to take them down too."

"So, what do we do, then?"

Marinette tapped her foot. "Like it or not, this situation with Josh does involve the Hideaway too. I think they have a right to be there. When we go after Gabriel, we'll see what happens with them."

"They might not even want to come. We'd be going to Geosenge Town, after all." Adrien said. "It's not exactly in their district."

"I agree with Marinette." Nino said. "No matter what we end up deciding about the Hideaway, right now we're on the same side. We want Josh back and we want to catch the people selling pokémon."

Alya nodded. "I'm not saying not to trust them. Just warning you guys to stay observant."

"Thank you, Alya." Marinette said. "You're right, as usual. We need to be suspicious of what exactly is going on in there, with or without management's knowledge. But we should stay focused. The Hideaway is tertiary at this point. First is Josh, then Gabriel. If we decide it's necessary then, we can deal with the Hideaway."

"Works for me." Alya said. "I don't like leaving these things, though."

"I know. Me neither, but we need to prioritize. We've already lost a lot of time."

"Speaking of." Adrien said. "We've kept Josh waiting long enough. Let's save him."

"Right. You and Alya look up that address. Nino, you call Lucas and Karen."

"Roger that, Bug."

The others took off to their respective tasks, leaving Juleka alone with Marinette. "What should I do?" Juleka asked.

"Help me decide something."

Juleka raised an eyebrow. _Something without the input of the others?_ "What is it?"

"Josh's dad. We told him we'd keep him updated if we learned anything, but this… feels like a last resort. I don't want to get his hopes up if it ends up being nothing. And as you said, if it is nothing, we're giving up. For a while, at least."

Juleka shifted uncomfortably on the balls of her feet. "This seems like a conversation that would be better with Adrien. He knows Mr. Keaton better than I do."

Marinette looked at the ground and kicked the floor weakly. "I know, but… can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

She bit her lip and took a deep breath. Then, with a quick glance to make sure no one else was listening, she said, "I have a crush on Adrien."

Juleka couldn't resist snickering. "Yeah. We know." Marinette blushed so red Juleka was afraid she'd faint. To spare her some embarrassment, hopefully, she let her off the hook just a little. "You told us in Reflection Cave, remember?"

Marinette nodded. "And so did Josh."

"Yeah. That happened, too."

"I… I don't want to admit it but… I'm a little jealous. I know there's more to it than just him being Josh, but Adrien's trying so hard. I'd given up really early on, but he didn't. I've been thinking maybe part of why I was ready to give up was if we never found him he wouldn't be competition."

Juleka's eyes widened. She sighed heavily. "What is with you and Adrien always thinking you're so selfish?"

Marinette covered her face. "B-but anyway. Point is, I'm not really comfortable talking about personal stuff about Josh with Adrien. Whenever he gets that wistful look in his eye I just… It hurts."

"You don't really think Adrien has a crush on Josh, do you?" Juleka tried to imagine it. It wasn't totally out of the question, but nothing about Adrien's behavior was particularly incriminating. He'd always be determined to find him, and he had a history with the guy, so looking fondly on the past was normal, too.

Marinette shook her head. "I think even if he did he knows himself too well to do anything. It's the same reason I haven't said anything about my crush. Well," She shrugged, "that and embarrassment. He told me himself that a relationship wouldn't be a good idea for him right now."

Juleka remembered the recap of that conversation. "It's been over half a year." She said. "A lot has changed since then."

"But a lot hasn't. And a lot has changed for the worse."

"I guess so."

"What about you? How do you handle a relationship with all this?"

Juleka hugged herself. "Badly. I miss Rose. Sometimes I think I shouldn't have left Lumiose. But… she does give me strength. I trust her, and she trusts me, and we talk through what bothers us. It's… really nice. It helps with some of this sometimes, even if it's just having someone else to cry with."

Marinette sighed. "I'm sorry. We're off topic."

"It's alright. And for the record, I don't think there's any harm in telling Mr. Keaton after we look into the Muldooneys' place."

"Okay. I think that's what I'll do, then."

"I'm curious, though." Juleka said. Marinette looked at her with huge eyes. "If the opportunity to date Adrien was on the table. Would you? Right now?"

"O- hmm…" She watched the floor as she thought about her answer. "Yeah. Yeah, I would."

"Despite the situation?"

Marinette shrugged. "Maybe because of it. Maybe it's selfish, I don't know. But I think I'd like a Rose to help me with this."

"You already have four." Juleka chuckled.

Marinette smiled, too. "I know. But… it's not the same, is it?"

Juleka had to be honest and shake her head. "No. It's not. But just because you think it'd help you doesn't mean it's a good idea. Relationships are two-way streets. If you can't support him just as much as he does you, then it's probably not a good idea."

Marinette shuffled a little on her feet. "I can't be vulnerable?"

"You _should_ be vulnerable. I'm not saying you have to forget your troubles to help him when he's down. I'm not even saying that you can't both be down at the same time. Just that… Well, with Rose, just hearing her voice makes me feel better. It's like, she's the person that I look at and just have little exclamation points on my heart. I don't want to overstep, but… um…"

"Please, say what you mean." Marinette said. "I can take it."

"Honestly, when you and Adrien are together, it's the opposite. You don't make each other happy. I can't say why, maybe it's because you care _too_ much, but you always end up bringing each other down."

Marinette clutched her own arms tightly. "Yeah. I've noticed."

"You aren't even bad around him anymore. You talk in complete sentences and everything. But still, you beat yourself up. And you're jealous. Adrien is really affectionate, once he gets close to you. Getting jealous about someone like Josh… getting jealous over Chloé, who he's demonstrably not interested in, is unhealthy. And the same goes for him. He's not jealous, but he is sensitive."

"Juleka."

Juleka closed her eyes. "Sorry. I said too much, didn't I?"

"No. No, you're totally right. I just…" Marinette took a shaky breath. "I wish I was better."

"That's the problem. But… you don't want to hear this. I'm sorry."

"No, finish what you meant. About me and Adrien. I want to hear it all."

Juleka rubbed her arm awkwardly. "Uh… I just mean that you don't really wish you were better. You wish you were different. In a way that matched Adrien. But that's not how it should be. Rose and I are together because we already match. We're not perfect, obviously, but unless we fuck up, we pretty much never hurt each other."

"Right."

"And Adrien… when you were in the hospital after the steelix, that's when it was clearest to me." She saw Marinette hold a hand over her belly, where the scar was. "But I noticed it before, too. He'd go out for a break, get some air, and he'd be smiling. He'd be… relaxed. And then the moment he saw you he'd start sinking again."

"Why?"

"Because he didn't want to hurt you. He was frightened of what you thought of him. And he felt guilty that you had to protect him."

Marinette shook her head. "That's ridiculous."

"Not to him. I still see it now. Don't you notice him staring at you?"

Marinette went beet red. "No! What do you mean, staring at me?"

"You two have too complicated a relationship. He… he sees you and thinks of the things he's done wrong."

"How do you know that?"

Juleka shrugged. "I know him. Ask Nino, I'm sure he'd tell you the same thing. Anytime you get jealous, he worries he's hurt you. When he sees your scars, he thinks about how he could have or should have protected you. It's almost like he thinks you're fragile." Marinette huffed defiantly, which made Juleka laugh. "But he doesn't. The opposite, actually. I think seeing you hurt terrifies him because you're so strong."

"It almost sounds like… he loves me."

"He does." Juleka answered without hesitation. "But the kind of love you want… honestly, he could probably give it. I'm sure he'd fall in love with you. But… it wouldn't be good for either of you."

"You think he's better with Josh."

"Honestly, I don't even know Josh right now. He was fused, remember? We don't know if he's even the same person, or whether he feels the same way he used to about Adrien. So, no. I don't think he'd be better with Josh. Besides, even if he is the same Josh that came with us at the start of this journey, he and Adrien never actually saw each other. I've met the guy before, but only a few times. I don't know how Adrien acts around him, or how he acts around Adrien. Especially after everything we've been through."

Marinette nodded slowly. "You're… really wise, you know."

"Not really." Juleka said. "That's just my opinion. I could be wrong and it could work out, but… yeah."

Juleka felt Marinette's arms wrap around her. "Thanks, Juleka. It obviously wasn't what I wanted to hear, but I think I needed it." She backed up and wiped at her eyes, preempting the tears. "I knew. Of course, I knew. Hearing an outside perspective helped, though."

"Well, as long as it helped. And, uh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Don't worry about it." Marinette plastered on a smile and took Juleka by the shoulders. "Just make sure you do the same for Adrien. I see him, and I think he's hoping for too much. He didn't see Josh in the hospital, or… what you and Alya saw in the warehouse. I've been trying to think of something to say, but…"

Juleka nodded. "I've noticed, too. I can't guarantee I'll know what to say either, but… I can try. Probably best before we really go after this, right?"

"Yeah." They stood awkwardly for a moment before Marinette coughed. "We should probably get some more supplies."

"I'll go with Adrien. Get this over with."

"Are you sure?"

"Mhmm."

They found Adrien and Alya together in the computer room of the little hostel they'd been staying at. "Check this out." Alya said, pointing to the screen.

Juleka leaned in to look. Marinette pursed her lips. "That's closer to Courmarine City than here. It's pretty far in the opposite direction of Gabriel."

"I know." Adrien said. "But we have to try, right?"

"Yeah." Marinette said, though her voice was just a little too flat. "Yeah, we do."

"Adrien." Juleka said. "Will you come with me to get some supplies for the trip?"

"Of course!" He grinned and hopped up, taking Juleka's arm as they headed to the door. "It's been a while since it was just us, huh?"

Juleka couldn't help but smile. It was true. And she always loved their walks around Lumiose before or after dance practice. "Yeah." She agreed. "It feels almost surreal." She clung to his arm, leaning into him a little. "I'm glad you're back."

"Glad to be back, but you've had me for a couple months, Jules."

"Not like this."

He let out a rumbling chuckle. "Yeah. I missed this."

They were almost to the store when Juleka knew she had to broach the topic. She didn't want to ruin the moment, but she had to say something. But, she also had an idea. Somewhere within her, she harbored the same hope that Adrien had. "Hey, what kind of fruit does Josh like? Or berry."

Adrien arched an eyebrow. "Where's that come from?"

"I was thinking Rocco's special smoothies. I don't know how the fusion works… what's going on in his mind. If there's anything going on. But… maybe it would make him feel a little better."

"They always made Rocco happy."

"Yeah."

"Pinap." Adrien said. "Always hoarded the pinap berries." He smiled and shook his head as he got that wistful look Marinette mentioned. "I didn't mind. I never liked the fruit of them. Felt weird eating a spicy berry. He'd skin them just to spite me, then eat the sour peels just because." He stuck his tongue out. "Eugh."

Juleka giggled. "Hmm. That should be fun trying to mix in."

"Yeah, good luck with that." He laughed.

Juleka looked at him and let her mirth slip away. _We need to talk seriously. Like Marinette asked. How should I approach it?_

"Hmm? Something on your mind?"

"Just…" Juleka worried her lip and averted her gaze. "We don't know what the fusion did to him. He might not be Josh anymore. And Rocco… Rocco is…"

"Dead." Adrien sighed. "But I have to hope. I know it's not him, not either of them, probably, but… still. Lailah said that she wanted to revolutionize how we understood pokémon. I wasn't sure what that meant – still not – but I'm hoping it means something of Rocco is in there." Juleka heard him make a pathetic whimpering sound. "But… at the same time, I don't want to lose Josh, too. I don't know what I'm hoping for. I guess just… I want him to still like me."

"I doubt that's a danger."

"I started all of this. Now he's Arceus knows where, in who knows what state."

"You didn't start this. Gabriel did. Lailah, too."

Adrien sighed. "Why?" He slipped his fingers through Juleka's and squeezed tight. "Why do we have to fight our parents?"

"Adrien…"

"I've tried to hard to stay focused, but I just can't. I can't believe the worst of them. I can't accept that we have to suffer because of them."

"Gabriel is wrong. But he is doing it out of love."

"No, he's not. He's doing it out of grief. He's still not over Mom."

"And you are?"

"Of course not. But when I learned to mega evolve Plagg, I learned to put it behind me. It's been such a long time, who I am is because she's been gone. I don't hate myself enough yet to wish for a different life. I met Plagg because she died. I might have only met you guys because she died. Who knows where I'd be? I miss her, but she's dead. I just hope she likes Rocco as much as I did. I hope they found each other. Wherever they ended up."

Juleka squeezed his hand. "Are you okay?"

"No. You know Lailah and Mom were friends? It's part of why Josh and I had so many shoots together back then. I loved Lailah, too. She was always so… enthusiastic. She always got me asking questions. I learned so much from her and… and now she's locked up because she fused her son with one of my best friends." He shook his head. "What happened to us?" A sigh. "Josh should have stayed home. He didn't need to come. He didn't know about Lailah."

"You know why Josh came with us."

"Yeah. He showed you to the old place."

Juleka shook her head. "No. That was the excuse. Really, he came because he cares about you. Same reason as the rest of us."

Adrien brought her hand to his chest. "You know why I missed this so much? It's strange. Despite having all you come after me. Even though you're all here with me. I've just… I've felt so lonely. I wish Rocco were here." His voice cracked a little.

"I know. Me too. But he isn't."

"And he isn't going to be." He sucked in a sharp breath and covered his eyes. "I thought things were going to be better."

Juleka hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head, forcing away the emotions before they crushed him. Juleka hated how swiftly he seemed able to do such a thing. _To just shove away feelings like that to focus on the objective. When's the last time you really let yourself cry? Ever since he found out Gabriel was responsible, he's been bottling it up. He cried all the time while we were fighting, but when it came out… he put on that act._

"Come on." Adrien said. "We should get the rest of this gear and meet up with the others."

"Right." Juleka followed him quietly, deciding not to push the subject anymore than she already had.

* * *

Lucas drove them out of the city to the Muldooney estate, and they were knocking on the door that evening. Juleka looked up at the huge home and felt uneasy. _Even if he were here, how would we find him in this?_

The door opened, and a stocky man greeted them. "Yes?" He asked. "Can I help you?"

"Robert Muldooney?" Karen said.

"I am he. Did you need something?"

"As a matter of fact, we do." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her badge. "Shalour City Police Department. May we come in?"

Robert gasped. "Why I never! What on earth could this be about? The police! At _my_ home!"

Alya scoffed. "Acting indignant is not helping you, monsieur."

Robert looked down his nose at the rest of the group. "And who are these people?"

"They're assisting me in my investigation." Karen said. "I ask once again. May we come in?"

Robert cleared his throat hesitantly. "Of course. I've nothing to hide." He stepped aside to they could file inside. "But now will you please tell me what this is about?"

"It's come to our attention that you may have had dealings with one Lailah Keaton. Do you remember her at all?"

"I'm sorry, I don't recall. The name is familiar. Was she that dreadful woman on the news some months back?" He guided them to a living room and called to his wife to fetch them all tea.

"That's not necessary, monsieur." Karen said. "We shouldn't be long, if you cooperate."

"Well, I'm afraid I know nothing of this Keaton woman. But she is in jail already, yes? What could be so concerning that you're continuing to investigate?"

"There are still a few loose ends with her case." Karen answered cryptically. "Now, you say don't know Lailah?"

"Hadn't even heard of her until I saw the news."

"Hm. Then perhaps you know Gabriel Agreste."

"The fashion designer? Of course, I know him. I had to completely remake my closet after he turned out to be behind those attacks in Lumiose. Yes, I remember that well. So many good suits, gone."

Juleka fought off a smile when she saw Marinette put a calming hand on Alya. _Guy clearly had his priorities sorted, right Alya?_

Karen politely cleared her throat. "And have you had any dealings with Mr. Agreste?"

"Naturally. He was the designer for our class, at a time. I've even commissioned him."

"I meant, since November."

Robert paused. "Well, no. In truth I've hardly heard a whisper about him after the big hullabaloo passed over."

"Mhmm." Karen said. "Then would you like to explain the money wired from Gabriel's off-shore bank account to your own?"

Robert's eyes went wide. "What are you suggesting? Surely this man could not still have access to his funds!"

"Not any kept in Kalos, no." Adrien grinned and waved. Robert fanned himself. "But you rich types like to keep money hidden, don't you?"

"It's true." Adrien said. "Dad didn't know I could look at that account, but I found some very suspicious payments."

Robert cleared his throat. "You clearly have me mistaken for someone else."

Alya clenched her fist. "That's enough waffling. What did Gabriel buy from you?" She hissed.

"You have no evidence of any crime, so I suggest you leave my home at once."

"Can't do that, I'm afraid." Alya said. "Because we do, in fact, have evidence."

"What evidence."

"Gabriel Agreste." Alya smirked. "I have a recording of him telling us exactly what you do."

"You're lying. You haven't caught Gabriel."

Adrien chuckled. "Don't need to." He said. He leaned on Alya's shoulder confidently. "I'm still his son. He won't tell me where he is, and of course he makes sure we can't trace the call, but he picks up when I reach out to him."

Robert saw that he was backed into a corner. "What do you want?" He asked. "I assure you I have no idea where Gabriel is."

"Oh, honey." Alya said. "That's not what we need you for." She approached him, getting in his face. "Where is our friend?"

Karen cleared her throat, prompting Alya to back off a little. "What my colleague means to say, is that we were hoping you could point us in the direction of Joshua Keaton. Lailah's son."

"And what makes you think I know anything about him?"

"You sold pokémon to Lailah. It's where she got the subjects for her experiments." Karen said simply. "We think Lailah sent Josh here, after she took him from the hospital."

Robert laughed. "And why, pray tell, would she send her son here?"

"Because she had you under her thumb."

Robert's eyes brightened. He regained his composure somewhat and cleared his throat. "Yes, well, if I did happen to provide a service to Lailah, it would have surely been under duress."

Alya scoffed, but Karen shushed her. "That is indeed one possible interpretation of events."

"If we were to agree that that was what had happened, I might be persuaded to share what else may have happened following Lailah's capture."

Alya tapped her foot impatiently. "We're listening."

"Not so fast." Robert said. "Either we have a deal, or I'm not saying another word without my lawyer present."

"Oh, hell no!" Alya leapt up. "If you think you're getting off, you two-faced, slimy, cowardly, pathetic, little insect of a man, you've got another thing coming! Where the hell do your usual victims go, huh? Or do you routinely hand pokémon off to be murdered? That's complicity, if I've ever seen it."

"Murdered?! Officer, I must insist you control this child!"

Karen rubbed at her temples, but Alya wasn't finished. "I'll give you a deal, _monsieur_. You can either be a poacher, or you can be an accessory to murder. Which is it?"

Despite the apparent headache Alya was giving her, Karen smiled. "Well?" She asked, after Robert was silent for too long. "She asked you a question."

Robert stumbled over his words for a while before finally saying, "I had no idea what Lailah was doing. I assure you, If I had I would have cut off all contact immediately."

"That's not what we care about. Tell us what you did with Josh."

He cleared his throat once more and tried to regain some image of composure. "My wife and I looked after the boy and ensured he was healthy. That was the first I'd heard of Lailah's experiments, but she sent instructions on how to care for him."

Alya crossed her arms. "And why didn't you tell the authorities that he was brought to you?"

"How could I? Lailah may have been caught but her companion was not. If I went against her wishes I may have very well had Gabriel coming after me. They had mega evolved pokémon! I'm not even a trainer. I couldn't fight them."

Karen held up a hand to tell Alya to back off. "And?" She asked.

"The boy stayed with us for about a week after he awakened. By then he was back on a normal diet and was regaining muscle. My wife and I were, if I may say, very happy to see him recover."

"Where did you send him after that?"

"Nowhere. The boy could not speak, so we did not know what manner of trouble he might get himself into. And of course, we couldn't just let him go – not with the threat over our heads."

"So where is he, then?"

"A man came. He said he was working with Lailah. He took the boy with him when he left."

Karen narrowed her eyes, as did Alya. "Who was this man?"

"I haven't a clue."

"And you let him take Josh simply because he said he knew Lailah."

"Well what would you have me do? I have a daughter. A young daughter. She was getting too attached to the boy, so I couldn't very well keep him here any longer."

Karen raised her eyebrows. "Really? I think I'd like to speak to this daughter of yours."

"Absolutely not! This is a subject much too inappropriate for her."

"Then stop lying to me. You're too careful to have let Josh go with a stranger."

Robert clenched his jaw. "Fine. I knew that I could not keep the boy here, and I could not let him go, so I reached out to one of my customers, who bought the boy from me."

"You _did_ sell him!" Alya growled. "I ought to-"

"To whom?" Karen asked calmly. "Who bought Josh?"

"Zachariah Talbot."


	14. Menagerie

**A/N:** Massive trigger warning for the Rape/Non-Con. If you're sensitive to that, you might want to skip this chapter entirely, or only read the summary. Past here, we're safe from active, explicit rape. It will all be only dialogue and remembering it.

 **Summary:** Ross is trapped in Talbot's basement and suffers the abuses Talbot inflicts. He's already lost track of how long he's been there when another prisoner, Lucario, starts to offer himself to be raped to spare the rest of the captives. Lucario's attempts work, to an extent, but when Talbot comes down angry and targets Ross, it only makes things worse for the both of them.  
Trapped together, their only comfort is each other, and they take from that what they can. But then Talbot comes in a rage beyond anything they'd seen before, and he ferries Ross off, alone, to the Hideaway, where he is left for someone else to claim. Three people try, but Ross uses his powers of illusion, inherited from Rocco, to impress them and trigger an argument over who will claim him. Using that as a distraction, he is able to look around enough for a Hideaway host to recognize him.

* * *

Talbot had had one goal in mind regarding Ross. Ross knew that. He recognized it right away. He wanted to break him. And, Ross thought, curled up once again on the concrete, covered in dried fluids and reeking of all manner of things, Talbot had succeeded.

He didn't accept his situation, he didn't get used to it, or hate it any less. He just gave up. Gave up hope of escaping. Gave up hope that his friends would find him. He couldn't count the days, the number of times Talbot had used him. He'd lost all sense of time.

The only glimpse of the passage of time he got was Talbot's clothes – he remembered enough from a fashion career to know that they were entering spring – and then more time passed and he lost track again. Every once in a while, very rarely at first, Talbot would come down and string him up like usual, but rather than using him he would get a bucket and a rag and clean him until he was spick and span. In those moments, the only evidence of what had been happening to him was the chafing around his wrists and ankles – that only an irritation because Talbot had lined the cuffs, so that when he was taken to another location and used by strangers who'd come to fuck the rumored hybrid, they would not have any idea what Talbot had been getting up to in his own home.

Part of him thought he'd given in too easily. Another part thought it was too familiar. He had no power. He had no choice. What point was there in struggling? It eventually reached the point where Talbot didn't even bother to lock him up. He was kept in the basement, bound when he was taken out, and released in whatever new room. The people who paid Talbot for him appreciated that. They liked to think they weren't raping him. They liked to think that they were good people.

And what was the point of fighting back? He wouldn't escape. Talbot was outside the door. When a girl wanted him to take control, he was in no more control than when Talbot had him in the basement. When she bent over for him, he had no more choice than when he was bent over.

It was all the same.

He pleasured because he had no choice. He submitted because he had no choice. He dominated because he had no choice. The role didn't matter, because it never truly changed, no matter where he was laying in the bed.

Enough time had passed that Talbot got bored of him. When he wasn't being used to make money, he was thrown to the corner, to watch as Talbot used another pokémon. An expressionless delcatty, a terrified smeargle, a crying zweilous.

Sometimes, one of them would call for help. Cry desperately for something that wasn't there. Ross just hugged his knees and tried to block out the sound.

That was one interesting thing that happened because of the fusion. He could understand pokémon. Shame that the only words he hears are those ones.

He didn't know when it happened, only that Talbot had taken a grumpig who was crying for mercy. Another captive, a lucario, jumped in and pushed Talbot off of her.

Ross stared, terrified and in awe of this lucario who was braver than he. He winced when he saw that the metal spike on the lucario's chest had been filed down to a mound. He'd seen that particular pokémon, of course, they were trapped together, after all, but no one ever spoke and neither did he, so he didn't think anything of him.

Talbot flared with anger. He rose his fist to strike the lucario, but rather than fight, the lucario just turned around, lifted his tail, and presented himself to Talbot. The angry fist lowered. "That eager, are you? Fine then."

Talbot was excessively rough on the lucario. He normally wasn't the gentlest, but he was careful because all of them in that basement were merchandise that he needed to let others use. He couldn't damage them physically too badly.

But clearly the defense of the grumpig was a transgression that required punishment, even if it meant that the lucario couldn't be sold for a few days.

Truthfully, that money would not even be noticed by Talbot. Ross wondered why he even bothered whoring them out when he was already sitting on more money than he could possibly spend.

He turned his back on the scene.

* * *

In that basement, he had a lot of time to think. _Ross. I should probably change the name, shouldn't I? It was given to me by a man who sold me into this. There are no good things about this name._ He remembered playing with Amy, smiling and laughing as she pulled gently on his ears and screamed as he ran around with her on his shoulders. _That's not entirely true, but by and large._

 _Still. I don't know how long I've even had this name, yet… I suppose a name just describes a person. I can't get rid of this experience, so shouldn't the name reflect that?_

 _I guess it doesn't matter. Not like anyone will ever use a name for me again._

Talbot came in again. Lucario cut him off at the stairs, presenting himself before Talbot even undressed.

Ross turned away once more. _Idiot._

* * *

"Hey." Ross was shaken awake by a paw on his shoulder. He turned to see who had bothered him and found the lucario kneeling over him. Ross growled softly and turned away again. "Hey." The lucario said again. "Can I talk to you?"

Ross sighed and sat up. _No one's ever tried to talk down here. May as well hear him out. Might be nice._ He tilted his head, a silent question.

The lucario shifted uncomfortably in front of him, wincing a little from the pain. "Can, uh, can you talk?" He asked.

Ross frowned. _I don't actually know. I haven't tried in a long time._ He swallowed his spit and opened his mouth. "I… used to." His voice was rough, hoarse, a different pitch than he remembered, but he couldn't tell if it was higher or lower. It was rough and inhuman, but he understood his words, and so did the lucario.

The lucario looked carefully at him. "Do you have a name?"

Ross shook his head.

"Hah, yeah. Me neither. But how do you not? I was raised by humans, so I was always just called Lucario. You're a human yourself. I thought all humans had names."

"Only partly." Ross said.

"What happened?"

"My mother fused me."

Lucario tried a few times to form words. "Fused? I'm sorry?"

"Well, sort of my mother." Ross clarified. "I used to be two people. One human and one zoroark. The mother of the human fused me into… me." He shook his head. "It's confusing, I know."

Lucario shook his head. "Well, it's alright if you just call me Lucario. What should I call you?"

Ross shrugged. _What does it matter?_ "Ross, I guess."

"Ross." Lucario smiled and wagged his tail "That is a name! Was it your human name?"

Ross shook his head.

Lucario deflated a bit, his enthusiasm dying. "Oh. Okay."

He sat awkwardly as the silence stretched on. Despite his own attitude, Ross was beginning to enjoy the conversation. He hadn't had one in… well, he didn't know, but it had been too long. He appreciated someone wanting to talk to him. "What did you bother me for?" He asked, a bit more gruffly than intended.

"Oh, right, I was just wondering if you could talk to him." Lucario gestured toward the only door in the room. "Because you're part human, I thought maybe you could speak his language."

Ross worried his lip. "Why?"

"So you could ask him to let everyone go."

Ross barked with laughter. "Nice joke, buddy. Been a while since I've had a laugh."

"I'm serious!"

"That's almost funnier. You've gone totally insane!"

Lucario pouted, crossing his arms and making puppy-eyes at him. "I'm not joking! I'll stay. He can use me. The others can go."

Ross shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? We're not here because he needs to get off. We're here because we're his income. Using us himself is just gravy."

Lucario tilted his head. "Um… gravy?"

"Idiom. Means it's just extra. Nothing to do with the real reason we're here."

"But there has to be a way out."

"There isn't."

"You don't know that! I've been here longer than you, I know better than you do."

"Evidently not."

Lucario growled. "Look. I'm at least trying to do something."

"You're an idiot. You're letting him use you for what? So one of us gets a day off? What difference does it make?"

Lucario stood and took a step back. He looked away dejectedly. "Sorry for bothering you. I can tell you're not willing to help, so I'll just figure something else out."

As he walked away, Ross watched after him. He shook his head. _Idiot._ He laid down again to get some more sleep. _Total idiot._

* * *

Talbot came down the stairs in some kind of state. He stomped as he descended. He threw his expensive suit jacket on the floor rather than hanging it up and followed suit with the rest of his clothes. And he made a beeline for Ross.

For the first time in a while, Ross found himself strung up by chains. In Talbot's haste, and perhaps fury, he hadn't been careful about keeping the lining in place, so they chafed and rubbed his skin raw. And Talbot was rough. Ross couldn't help but yelp at the force of him, and he earned a hand around his throat for that.

Ross was suffocated, deprived of breath as Talbot pounded at him, until Talbot decided any further would lessen the fun and Ross was left gasping, desperately refilling his lungs with stale air. And then the hand closed over his throat once more.

After the fifth pass at that, when Ross was desperate for any sort of respite, Talbot stopped suddenly. Ross regained his breath and twisted to see what had happened.

Lucario stood, a single cuff around his ankle, and presented himself to Talbot.

"Not today, you stupid slut." Talbot growled. "Not today. Today, this one is getting what it deserves."

Ross didn't know what pissed off Talbot so much. But it didn't matter. Nothing did. So, he was rough today. Ross had been tortured before – or more accurately, Rocco had – he could handle it. And then he'd recover and maybe Talbot would be rough again but that's just how it was. But what Lucario was doing was just stupid. _Stop trying to be a hero._

Lucario gave him a meaningful look. One that told him, "Even if you don't appreciate it, I'm going to do what I can because I think it's the right thing to do."

Ross glared. _You didn't think it was the right thing before. Or were you just a coward? Go back to being a coward._

Talbot saw the exchange and laughed. "Actually, I've got a better idea." He said. He approached Lucario. "You've been so… compliant recently. I think it's time I rewarded you." He reached out and stroked Lucario's face. Lucario bravely faced him down. "So, you have this one, yeah? You deserve some pleasure too."

Lucario's eyes widened. Ross closed his eyes and faced forward. _Do it. Just do it and let's get it over with._ He felt Lucario's paws on his hips. He heard Lucario's gentle whine. "Sorry." He said. Ross just grunted, feeling Lucario press against him.

He didn't know why he thought of it, then, but it occurred to him that this would be the first time he'd done something like that with a pokémon. _Would've bothered me, at one point. In one life. Wonder if it's the zoroark part or the situation that kind of cancels that out._

Lucario was gentle. Almost excessively so. Ross knew he didn't want to do it any more than Ross did, and knowing what it was like in Ross' position, he tried to make it as easy as possible. But Ross knew better. Talbot wouldn't be satisfied with that, and even if he was, he wouldn't be satisfied until Lucario finished, and that kind of gentleness only prolonged everything.

"Come on." Talbot said. "Where's your passion?" He circled to Ross' front. "Let me show you how to do it."

Roughly, Talbot grabbed Ross' head and forced him down on him. It hurt, both from gagging and suffocating on Talbot and from the awkward wrenching of his shoulders from his hands still cuffed in the chains. Ross was honestly more concerned with dislocating his shoulders than with anything Talbot was doing.

But Lucario stayed as gentle as he could possibly get. It pissed Ross off. _He thinks he's helping. You fucking idiot, you're just making it worse._

Ross did appreciate the sentiment, but his throat, his shoulders, his wrists and ankles, and his butt all very much did not. On one momentary reprieve from Talbot, just a moment to allow him a breath, Ross growled. "Just do it! You fucking coward!"

The expression Talbot gave him made Ross think that maybe he wasn't speaking a language Talbot could understand. _Didn't know I could do that. Even better._ And then he was being forced back down, no more time to think about anything but his next breath.

"But…" Lucario said hesitantly. Ross growled deep in his throat. Talbot moaned in response. Ross really didn't care. He pushed back as hard as he could with the painful and awkward position he was in, trying to force Lucario to just go at it.

Finally getting the hint, Lucario apologized and started going harder. Talbot laughed. "That's the way! Knot the freak!"

Ross really hoped he didn't need to repeat himself when he felt Lucario hesitate. _He's not letting this stop until you do. Stop acting like either of us have a choice in this._

He understood it would take Lucario a while. He'd end up climaxing from the physical stimulation, but without his head in the game it would take much longer than otherwise. Still, Talbot was so long done that he had pulled Ross down for a second run before Lucario finally started going with any sort of force. Ross felt Lucario's fur against him, and knew he was as deep as he'd go. Then the inflation started. _Fuck he's a lot bigger than I expected._

Needless to say, it hurt. Ross was positive he'd be bleeding when it was all over, but Lucario stopped moving. He just panted and stayed stuck inside Ross.

Talbot seemed satisfied to let them sit there, and once he was done he loosed the chains and left.

Lucario collapsed on top of him, pulled down with him when the chains stopped supporting him. _Oh. Good thing his chest spike was filed down, I guess. Probably the exact reason, actually._

Lucario's soft voice tickled his ear. "I'm sorry." He said. "Are you okay?"

"No."

Lucario whined.

"How long are we going to be stuck?"

"Few minutes, probably. Sorry."

"Stop apologizing. You didn't have any more choice than I did."

"Still." Lucario licked his ear and hugged him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't do that." Ross growled. "Stop caring about me. You're only making it worse for yourself. And me."

He felt Lucario's face press into his back. "I can't help it."

Ross sighed. _I suppose there's not really any other choice._ "What changed?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been here longer than I have, yet you only started being a hero a while ago. What changed?"

Lucario was quiet for a little while. "You."

"What about me?"

"Your aura. It's sad."

"No shit."

"I mean, I've seen a lot of pokémon whose auras changed from being in here, but yours… it's like it's fighting with itself."

"Maybe my aura still hasn't settled from being fused."

"Maybe." Lucario said. "I don't know what happens to your aura after fusion. But I know pain when I see it. You've been through a lot, even before coming here."

"So?"

"So, I had… I forgot that people like him exist outside this place. But they do. I can't let him stop me because I need to help the others, not just myself."

"What about the others in here?"

"I don't know. I'm not saying it was a particularly well thought out motivation."

Ross huffed with a short, bitter laugh. "Yeah, no kidding."

"Either way, I can't sit by anymore. Can you understand that, at least?"

Ross sighed. On his side, with Lucario pressed against his back, hugging him. Even though they were like that for a terrible reason, Ross did feel just a little bit less alone. He remembered his friends. He remembered Adrien. _I'd do anything for them._ "Yeah." He said. "I can understand that." He felt Lucario's hot breath on his spine. "But you aren't really helping. We both know Talbot wasn't going to let us off. Being gentle with me only makes things worse in the long run."

Lucario whined. "Yeah. I figured that out."

"Good. Then you know what to do if it happens again."

"Yeah." Lucario sounded extremely uncomfortable at the thought.

Ross just sighed. _He's hopeless, isn't he?_

* * *

Talbot was angry more often, as the days passed. More and more he'd come storming down the stairs and he'd target Ross for the worst he could dish out. Once, in a fit of rage, he had brought a whip. Ross' back was still raw and bloody but fearing for his profits Talbot had quickly bandaged him and regularly checked on him to make sure it didn't get infected.

Lucario tried a few more times to take the heat for Ross, but they ended up in the same position as the first time. Once, Talbot even made Lucario pull out while his knot was inflated, just to hurt them both. That incident finally convinced Lucario to stop.

Still, Ross did owe Lucario. It has him who snapped Talbot back to his senses when he'd brought the whip. Ross wasn't sure if he'd even be alive if Lucario hadn't stepped in. He'd certainly be in an even worse state than he was. So, it wasn't all bad, he supposed.

Strangely, the thing that gave Ross hope was something that he had just stumbled across on one of the periods between Talbot's visits. He hadn't been out for people to pay for in a while, since Talbot had been abusing him so much, and those were always the longest times Talbot was absent.

He took out a small collection from the group and left supplies in the basement, ordering Lucario to help Ross with the bandages to keep the wounds clean. And then they were alone, with only the silent menagerie and each other for company.

Ross groaned from boredom. It was better than when Talbot was there, but still it wore on him.

"Let's play a game." Lucario suggested. He turned to some of the other pokémon and gave the same offer, trying to get someone else to play as well. No one did.

"What game?" Ross asked. He was in desperate need of something to do. It could be the stupidest game in the universe and he'd probably agree. So long as it wasn't sex.

"Charades! My old trainer used to play with me all the time. You know how to play?"

"Yeah, I know charades." Ross shrugged. "Why not. Let's do it."

Lucario stood and began miming. He made big, explosion movements with his paws, then mimed holding something in both hands at his side and growling at the explosion he'd set up earlier. Ross hummed. "Soldier. You're shooting someone."

Lucario shook his head and mimed shaking, as if the thing he was holding was pushing back on him. "Firefighter?" Ross guessed.

"That's it!" Lucario exclaimed. Ross chuckled. _He at least seems to be enjoying himself. And it beats doing nothing._ "Your turn!"

With a heavy sigh, Ross got to his feet and began the game.

They went through several rounds before it happened. Lucario was sitting attentively while Ross mimed being a buneary. He was making a complete fool of himself, his hands over his head mimicking ears and jumping around all over the place, but the genuine, pure laugh that he got from Lucario was more than worth it. Anything for a bit of sunshine in that dank basement.

But then, all of a sudden, Lucario yelped and jumped back in surprised. Ross dropped the charade and looked at him, somewhat concerned. "What is it?"

"I…" Lucario stuttered. "B-buneary."

"Yeah, dude. That's what I was doing."

"No, I mean I _actually_ saw a buneary. You vanished for a moment and there was a buneary there instead."

Ross blinked slowly. "Wait. You're saying I…"

Lucario grinned. "You can use illusions! I'm sure of it!"

"But…" Ross looked at his hands. _If I can use illusions… that's very interesting._ Something inside him knew he could. Something inside him wanted to use illusions the entire time. It never truly occurred to him to try, he had just assumed his human physiology wouldn't allow it, and yet Lucario said he had done it. What's more he had done it while Lucario was watching. Somehow, he knew that that was the hardest kind of visual illusion, to trick the mind that already saw what should be there.

"We should train!" Lucario said. "Until you master your illusions!"

The idea was frightening to Ross. He felt, remembered – though not clearly – that the power was dangerous. He had promised not to use it. _Does a promise made by one of my past selves apply to me?_

"You can trick Talbot! When he comes down here for one of us you can just make him use an illusion instead."

Ross shook his head. "That's not how it works."

Lucario frowned. "No? How do you know?"

"I… remember. Hold still, let me try something." Lucario waited patiently, and Ross imagined a velvety cloud behind him. "Don't freak out. You might feel something touch you, it's just me." Lucario nodded, and Ross brought a tendril out to snake around Lucario.

Lucario shivered but stayed still. "It's cold." He said. "But soft."

Ross knew how it worked. Now that he knew he could do it, all of his experience came back to him. He changed the cloud into a snake. Lucario jumped. "Woah. It's heavy. And… that's amazing." He reached up to touch something in front of him, right where Ross imagined the ekans' head was. "But…" Lucario hummed. "I get it now. It's not good enough, right? It doesn't have scales."

"Yeah." Ross said. "I know how to fool touch, I think. But with something like this, that's not enough. Talbot would see through it and take precautions."

"So, we should train, and only use it when we escape!"

Ross got rid of the illusion. "I suppose that's the best option." Lucario paused. Ross frowned at him. "What?"

Lucario started giggling. "That's the first time you agreed that we can escape."

Ross huffed. "I did not. It's still stupid."

"You can't fool me. You agree with me!"

"You're crazy." Despite himself, Ross found it hard to fight back a grin.

* * *

Ross had seen pokémon come and go from that basement. Some held out longer than others. Some spat and fought, but they all gave in eventually. It was whether they closed off and became unresponsive that determined whether they were worth keeping. Ross didn't want to think about the ones who were taken out of there. He was still one of the newer ones, but older ones who'd broken too much, who didn't have any life left in them, they were disposed of. He saw quite a few of them being carried off.

Lucario played pretend and thought up all kinds of happy scenarios for them. They were thrown to the streets and found by some nice people who took care of them and gave them a good life. They were given to the Pokémon Center and fixed up and forgotten by Talbot and they went back to something resembling a life.

Ross wasn't so optimistic. He figured, more likely than not, those individuals were dead. But he couldn't shut down Lucario, not when he was trying so hard to be optimistic. So, he just didn't say anything. He just listened and let Lucario daydream.

It was in the middle of one such daydream that Lucario trailed off and asked something they had silently agreed not to talk about. "Hey, Ross? Can you tell me about the outside? You remember better than I do."

Ross turned over to face him. "Lucario, I don't really want to talk about that."

"I know. I know you think it's silly to remember." _It is silly. What's the point of reminiscing on something we'll never see again? Better to just make the most of the situation we have, not hope for one we don't._ "But please? Just… tell me a story?"

Ross sighed. In the time they'd been together, Lucario had gained an unfair amount of influence over him. Especially when he pulled out the puppy eyes. _If it makes him happy, I guess._ "Fine." Ross sat up. "What do you want me to talk about?"

"You! Tell me about your life before you came here."

Ross groaned. "That's a lot more complicated than it sounds."

"Well, um, how much do you remember of either specific life? Before you were fused."

"Well, I was a pokémon. And a trainer."

"Were you your own trainer? Or…"

"No." Ross shook his head. "No, my trainer was Adrien. He was also a good friend, from the other side. I think."

"Adrien." Lucario repeated. "So, did you know yourself before you were fused? Or… how do you even say that?"

"Pfft." Ross chuckled. "I know it's confusing. I guess for the sake of the story, we can just refer to myself by the names I had before the fusion. Josh was the human, Rocco was the zoroark."

"Oh! Okay. So, did Josh know Rocco?"

"Yeah. Actually, Josh was there when Rocco met Adrien. Rocco came from a bad place. He didn't trust humans at all, but he was desperate. Josh and Adrien were models, they were working together on a photo shoot when Rocco found them. At the start, he just wanted food. There was a table of food set out, so Rocco waited until Josh was occupied, and used his illusions to take Josh's image."

"Rocco disguised himself as Josh?"

Ross smiled. He remembered the moment. In hindsight, it was actually pretty funny. "Yeah. Ironic now, but at the time he just wanted food. He was at the food table when Adrien came up to him. Adrien and Josh were already friends, so Adrien started talking and joking and Rocco was kind of freaking out because he knew he was going to be caught."

"That must have been scary."

"Very." Ross nodded. "But it ended up being the best thing to happen to him." He smiled, thinking about the time he spent with Adrien. There were ups and downs, of course, but he'd never felt so loved. "But funnily enough, Adrien wasn't the one that caught him. Adrien just chatted until they were called back to the shoot and Rocco was dragged into actually modelling." Lucario giggled at the thought. "But, you know, illusions don't work on pictures. When the photographer looked at the picture he'd taken he freaked out." Ross laughed. "Full on scream, threw the camera up in the air and everything. Adrien caught it, thankfully, but then he saw the picture."

"What did he do?"

Ross grinned. "He laughed. He threw his arm around my shoulders and asked where I came from."

"He sounds really nice."

"Mhmm. He is. Josh came back not long after, and together they made sure that Rocco could stick around. After that, Rocco started showing up to other shoots sometimes, and things just went from there."

Lucario grinned and suppressed his giggles. "That's a great story. So, Rocco was friends with Adrien ever since?"

"Pretty much. Josh didn't see them as much, since they only really got together for photo shoots, but they hung out occasionally. And me, I remember all those times. All the times Rocco spent with Adrien, as well as how Josh felt about him."

"Oooh, do you like him?"

Ross huffed. "Don't be ridiculous."

"You do! You do! That's adorable!"

Ross hugged his knees close to his chest. "It doesn't matter." He said. "It's not like I'll see him again, so… it doesn't matter."

"No, don't say that." Lucario moved next to him and nudged him gently. "You'll see him again. He's probably doing everything he can to find you right now. You'll see. He'll be here any day to rescue us."

Ross shook his head. "I wish I could believe that."

Lucario linked their arms together. "I'll just believe hard enough for both of us, then."

Ross looked at him and smiled weakly. _Where does he get his strength?_

"Does he know?"

"No." Ross shook his head. "Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out my feelings, so it's better that he doesn't."

"Oh. Because of the fusion?"

"Yeah, I think. Rocco loved him, but it was platonic. Josh loved him romantically, and all of Rocco's experiences only makes that stronger, but… I don't know what _I_ feel yet. Everything's so jumbled, especially with Adrien. I think the parts of my life that Rocco and Josh both experienced are the hardest for me to sort out, because I have two different histories with them."

"That makes sense. You'll figure it out."

"Maybe."

"Definitely. You just need some more time."

Ross sighed. "I don't even know how much time I've had. Must have been a few months at least by now, right?" Lucario hesitantly shrugged. _He doesn't know any more than I do._ "It does seem a little easier to think about them as different people." He said. "There was Rocco, there was Josh, and now there's Ross. I'm them, but they aren't me, if that makes any sort of sense."

"It makes sense to me. You're a fusion. You're Rocco and Josh together. Without the other one, neither of them was Ross."

"Yeah. That's a good way to put it."

"And Adrien loved both of them, so he's going to love you double!"

Ross snickered. "Sure. If he doesn't associate me with losing both of them."

"He won't. I can tell by how you talk about him. He's too good a person to-"

Lucario was interrupted by the door slamming into the wall. Everyone in the basement who wasn't already too numb to respond jumped. Lucario quickly shuffled away, making sure Talbot couldn't see how close they were sitting. That would only end badly for both of them if he did.

Talbot entered and Ross curled up tighter. He never came in there with such rage and didn't target Ross. He knew what was coming. A large hand closed around his neck. "It's your lucky day." Talbot said. "You're more trouble than you're worth." Ross was lifted until he was suspended in the air, hanging by his neck. He choked helplessly and clutched at Talbot's wrist. "But if those high-and-mighty Hideaway types think I'll go quietly, they've got another thing coming."

 _Hideaway? How is the Hideaway involved in this?_ Talbot started walking with him back to the stairs. Ross looked back at Lucario, who was wide-eyed in shock. "If they're going to take me down," Talbot said, "I'm taking them with me."

 _The Hideaway is trying to stop this. They said they were against this kind of thing, so maybe they found a lead. And if they are… then my friends might be with them._ Lucario jumped to his feet. "Hey! Let him go!" _Don't. You idiot, just leave me be!_

Talbot cut off Lucario's assault with a single, powerful kick that sent Lucario tumbling down the stairs. "Aw, look." He said. "Your little boyfriend wants to help you."

Ross growled instinctively. "Fuck you."

"You know, I always did wonder if you could talk." Talbot said, closing the door, cutting off Ross' view of Lucario. "Guess not. You can only squeal like any other pokémon."

Ross heard pounding on the door to the basement but knew from experience that Lucario would not get through. Talbot threw him onto a couch. He bounced and fell off, banging his knee hard on the wood floor and gasping for breath. _Shit. He's lost it. This isn't good._

"I should put you down right now for all the trouble you've caused me." Ross sat terrified, unable to move. "But your friends would never let it go." _My friends._ "So, from today on, you're someone else's problem." Talbot tied his hands behind his back, then shoved a ball gag into his mouth. _My friends are coming. Talbot's scared because they're close._ Everything went dark when Talbot slipped a blindfold over his eyes.

By touch, sound, and smell, Ross tracked his progress. He was picked up and thrown into a truck. It was a familiar place. The scent of the truck bed and the asphalt below him was something he experienced often when Talbot brought him out to make money.

The truck stopped, and he was hefted out and thrown onto a bed. The sheets felt and smelled familiar, but without more information Ross couldn't be sure where he was. Talbot stood him on his knees at the edge of the bed. Ross sucked in a breath when he felt Talbot's hands roughly explore his body. "Enjoy it, freak." Talbot whispered in his ear. "This is the last time."

 _One way or another._

When Talbot left, Ross was alone. He waited, gagged and blind, for something else to happen. After what seemed like an eternity, he heard the door open once more. His ears twitched to follow the sound, he heard the footsteps. Three people, maybe four, piled in. They circled the bed. Ross' lips twitched, but he didn't bother showing his teeth. Never stopped anyone else.

"I still can't believe Talbot is giving him away!" A high voice with perfect enunciation exclaimed.

"Me neither." A deeper, gruff, breathy voice said. "There's got to be a catch."

"Maybe he's not a good lover?" The high voice suggested.

A huff. "A hole is a hole."

"My, you are crude. Such a man."

"Test him out, then, if you're so concerned." A third voice said. It was smooth, silky, slippery. "That's what we're here for, isn't it?" Ross knew escape wasn't an option. He didn't even know where he was, and there were too many people to stop him. _So… what do I do?_ "Oh fine. If you all are such pansies, I'll go first." The silky voice said.

Hands, calloused and rough against his skin, but not handling him roughly, moved Ross to the edge of the bed. Those hands lifted Ross' legs in the air and the silky-voiced man did what he came to do. Ross hissed, not from the man himself, but from his back being pushed into the mattress. The wounds from Talbot's venture into whipping were still not fully healed. The man seemed to notice that, then. "Oh, look at what Talbot's done." He said. "Tsk. Tsk. Here, why don't you flip over."

Ross complied with the hands that guided him. What else was he to do?

Another hand, supple with long, razor-like nails, brushed along the healing scars on his back. "I wonder what this is about." The high voice said.

"Had to break him, probably." The breathy one said.

"Such ugly scars. Oh well, I'm sure I'll find clients who like it."

"Assuming you get him."

The silky voice huffed. "Oh, will you shut up? You're totally ruining the mood."

"I'll tell you what's ruining the mood." The high voice said. "That ridiculous get-up Talbot has him in. Where's the fun if you can't see your lover's eyes, or feel his breath on your skin?"

The breathy one huffed. "Women."

"Well on my turn I'm taking it off. You can put it back on if you're so impersonal."

"He's merchandise, not a lover."

"Just because we sell flesh, darling, doesn't mean we have to kill passion everywhere we find it."

The silky one finished. _That was quick. Thought you did this for a living._ He gave a great sigh and patted Ross' hip. "Your worry is unfounded, love. He's excellent."

"That is not how you determine the quality of a lover." She huffed. The silky one laughed as he backed away. "I'll show you. Come here darling, let me get that for you." Her hands stood him up on his knees and began fiddling with the bonds around his wrists.

"You sure that's a good idea?" The breathy one said. "We don't know his temperament."

"That's exactly why we need to release him, darling! Besides, I have two strong men to protect me if he acts out, don't I?" A grunt answered her. Ross felt the rope slacken and fall from his wrists. _She's an idiot. But… what could I really do? I can't fight them. Even if I escaped, where would I go? I've no idea where I am. I guess… I just need to cooperate. For now. Until an opportunity presents itself._ "There." She said. "Isn't that better?" Ross rubbed his wrists. They hurt from being bound for so long.

"Now," the high voice said. "Let's do something about that blindfold." He felt shifting on the bed and her hand trailed over his shoulder. He shuddered involuntarily as her hands caressed his neck and ventured up to the tie of the gag, and then the blindfold. He let the gag fall from his mouth and squinted when the blindfold fell. The light hurt his eyes.

The woman, who had a shirt that looked far too expensive for what they were doing and no pants at all, leaned in close and pressed her lips to Ross'. "Now, why would Talbot hide this? You really do have the most beautiful eyes."

He raised his eyebrows. _Good point. I don't even know if my eyes changed since the fusion. Didn't as far as I could tell while I was with the Muldooneys, but I was still changing quite a bit._

"Do you have a name?" She asked, sitting on his lap and murmuring into his neck.

The burly guy with the breathy voice sighed. "Of course he doesn't." He said. "He's merchandise."

"I'm not asking you." The woman retorted. "I'm asking him."

Ross swallowed hard and murmured a response. The first time he'd truly tried to speak to a human since Talbot got a hold of him. "Ross."

The woman frowned. "Oh, dear. Can't you speak?" She touched his throat.

He closed his eyes and tried again, trying to separate in his mind what sounds he needed to make. "Ross." He said, slowly and tentatively. It didn't come out like a human sound. Frustrated, he moved a hand to sign his name instead.

"Ross." The woman repeated, seeing his hand gestures. _I can't believe she actually understood that._ "A beautiful name."

The silky one laughed. "Wait, you actually understood that?"

"Naturally, darling. I'm not fluent with sign language, but I at least know my letters. We serve all kinds of people after all." She smiled and looked Ross in the eyes. "Did Talbot treat you well?" Ross raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "That simply won't do. Tell you what, Ross. You impress me right now, and I'll make sure you're well taken care of. You won't need to worry about crass men like Talbot treating you badly. Does that sound good?"

Ross narrowed his gaze. _I don't trust her for a second, but like I said, I should probably go along with it for now._ He put on the smile he knew would make her happy. It was a model smile, one that he'd discovered Talbot's clients enjoyed.

She pulled him on top of her, so he had her between him and the bed. He thought of Lucario, still trapped in Talbot's basement. _These three are deciding who's going to get me._ He thought. _If I make sure they all want me, I might get them fighting amongst themselves. Then I can use the opportunity to… not escape, probably, but try to get a little closer._ He smirked. _So, to impress them._ _I've never tried this before, but I bet I can…_ He knew from experience that he could trick the sense of touch. Rocco used it to hurt people, but he figured it wasn't too different to try a different angle on the technique.

She moaned immediately. The silky-voiced man laughed. "Geez, and he hasn't even touched you yet."

She gasped with pleasure. "H-he's…"

She couldn't seem to get her words out, so Ross decided to just show him what she meant.

It was strange. He knew he was powerless. He was just as powerless as every other time he was made to take the lead. Yet something felt different with the three people writhing in pleasure. He grinned, for real, because for the first time he really felt like he had control.

Like he had told Lucario back when he learned he could use illusions, it would never trick them. He couldn't conjure an image to pleasure them that they would mistake for him. But he could definitely pleasure them. There was no doubt how he was doing it, but he figured for them it was pretty impressive nonetheless.

He didn't have power, not really. When the woman ordered him to enter her, he was in no position to refuse. But surpassing their expectations, going beyond what they thought possible, that gave him some pride. It gave him something that was his. A small victory not granted to him but taken by him.

All of them finished quickly. How could they not? He had, after all, sent them into the most intense pleasure they'd ever experienced with just a thought.

All of them huffing, the silky-voiced one was the first to speak. "Woah."

The woman laughed. "Haha, indeed. That was amazing."

The breathy one pursed his lips. "That was… unexpected."

"Why didn't Talbot tell us about _that_?" The woman asked. She stroked Ross' cheek. "I would have bought you on the spot." She grinned savagely. "But it's his loss. Now I get you for free."

"Woah hang on now." The silky one said. "You can't just claim him. I've got just as much a claim on him as you do."

"Me too." The breathy one said. "I want him."

"Yeah, well," the silky voice said, "we all do. So, we need to figure out how this'll work."

Ross grinned and rolled off of the woman. He propped himself up on his elbows and watched the trouble he'd started. _It's working._

"You two will simply have to find others." The woman said. "He's coming with me."

"Says who, now?"

"Says me! You two couldn't possibly appreciate him the way I can."

"Oh, can't we? I've half a mind to keep him for myself with that power he's got. Clients be damned."

"That's impractical." The breathy one said. "And I've got the best business. He'll thrive at my place."

"Thrive." The woman mocked. "Hah! I've never heard a funnier joke."

 _I wonder if I can just kind of… take a peek outside. With their arguing, an illusion might fool them for long enough to look._

Carefully, he got out of the bed and stepped around the bickering people until he reached the door. _I need to make sure they don't hear this, or see it opening too._ It was a test of his power. He knew Rocco would have had no problem doing it, but though he had Rocco's experience, it was still relatively new for him as Ross. Still, he pulled the door open a crack and the three in the room with him didn't even pause their exchange.

He looked down a long hallway. Lavishly decorated, with a silver stripe running along the carpet like a runway. He'd never seen the place before. Unsure, he stepped out just a little further. Then, suddenly, a pokémon rounded the corner. A large arcanine that bounced on his toes as he walked. _That can't be._ The acronine spotted him and adjusted his course to go to him. _Is it… Rex? The one from the Hideaway?_

"Woah, hey! You're pretty interesting!" Rex barked.

Ross jumped. It was too loud. The three in the room surely heard it. He quickly shut the door and returned to sit on the edge of the bed. Luckily for him, the three didn't seem to notice he'd been up. They went to the door. "It's one of the hosts." The breathy one said.

The silky one cursed. "Fine, you get rid of it. I'll take Ross for now, and we can talk more about this another time, okay?"

"No!" The woman said. "Why should you take him?"

"It's just until we get a place we can make a deal in safety."

"And why should we give you that advantage?" The breathy one asked. "The one who has him has the most leverage."

Scratching at the door sent all of them into a panic. Ross grinned to himself and returned to his position on his stomach, watching the scene unfold. "Hey!" Rex, from beyond the door, barked. "Why'd you hide? Want to play? Come out!"

Slipping back into the vocalizations the three humans wouldn't understand, Ross growled a response. "Sorry. I can't."

The humans stopped arguing and looked at him. "Can you tell it to leave?" The woman asked.

"Shouldn't let him talk." The breathy one said. "If we can't understand him." _He's right, you know._

The silky one banged on the door. "Hey! Get out of here! We don't want your service!"

Rex's growl reached Ross' ears. "I don't understand."

"I said get!"

"Why can't you play? Are these people keeping you here?"

Ross grinned. _Smart boy. I think he can piece everything together. Better I don't alarm these three by saying anything else._ "I'm going to complain." The woman said. "It's uncomely for a host to treat guests like this."

Ross heard the scratching stop. The breathy man pressed his ear to the door. "I think it's leaving." He said.

 _Rex knows where I am, and probably knows these people too. I'll be out of here before they know what hit them._ He closed his eyes. _And then I'm coming for Lucario. Talbot thought pawning me off would get my friends off his tail, but he didn't consider me._ He stifled a laugh as he thought about it. _Lucario was right. The opportunity did come._


	15. Scour

_Zachariah Talbot._ Alya repeated the name in her head. It was a dark mantra that fueled her. The Coumarine Police Department handled the Muldooneys, once Alya and her team were done with them. The evidence that they had didn't incriminate any one of them individually, so when Robert admitted his guilt and insisted he acted alone, Diana got off free. It rubbed Alya the wrong way, but she figured that Diana probably wasn't going to go back to crime anytime soon. _And her daughter would have been alone._ That, Alya would have felt guilty about. No matter what her parents did, the child didn't deserve to suffer for it.

Alya knew that too well. _Gabriel, Lailah, why does it have to be so personal? Adrien has been having such a hard time. Once we get Josh back, we're going to have to help him through it, too, but at least Lailah's already in prison._

She sighed and shook her head. _Zachariah Talbot. That's our target._ "Got it." Karen said, bringing Alya's attention to her computer. "Zachariah Talbot. He owns quite a few properties within Shalour, probably more outside, too."

"So, Josh could be in any one." Alya said.

"Yes, but we have a real solid lead now. We just need to find Zachariah and make him spill the beans."

Alya smiled. "That's what I'm talking about. How do you want to handle this? I'm counting… five places in Shalour alone." Alya frowned at the screen. "Would anyone else be in those buildings, or is he alone?"

"Hard to say. There's a few storage buildings, like Gabriel's warehouse. There's also a residential property and what looks like a business property."

"What's the business?"

Karen did a quick search. "He sells poketches. But it looks like the primary output is actually apps for the poketch."

"Hmm."

"He has a deal with the poketch company. Says here that they let him sell their product here in Kalos."

Alya made a disgusted noise in her throat. "Suddenly feeling a lot better about that decision not to buy a poketch."

Karen chuckled. "But I don't think this is what we're looking for. It'd be stupid to put Josh in such a populated place."

"I agree. But now we know more about him. It'll help."

Karen shook her head. "You really are a journalist."

"Thank you." Alya grinned. "The storage units are probably most suspect, but I'd check out the house too. If nothing else, we might be able to catch him and confirm he's in Shalour."

"Agreed. But there's three units."

"If we hit one, we lose the element of surprise."

"We can't 'hit' one, anyway. It's private property. And unlike Gabriel, Zachariah isn't already suspect. His properties are off limits. We step a foot on one and he could have an army of lawyers tearing us apart."

Alya huffed. _She's right. I hate that she's right._ "I could check anyway." She offered.

"Maybe don't say that to a cop."

Alya shrugged. "Well, what do you want to do, then?"

"We're going to have to stake out the place."

"Split up, then? A team at each place?"

"No. You're right it'd be smarter to raid every place at once, but on a stakeout, we don't want to be spotted. A car parked on the other side of the road for too long is one thing. A car parked for too long across the street from every one of his properties at once is suspicious."

Alya groaned. "That'll take forever!"

"Do you have another option?"

Alya crossed her arms but begrudgingly admitted that she did not. "Fine." She said. "I'll let the others know."

Karen nodded. "Yeah. I need to make some calls too." She smiled. "Don't worry. We'll get it figured out."

 _I'm not worried we won't figure it out, I'm worried we won't be fast enough._ Alya sighed and called Marinette to catch her up on what she and Karen had found.

For the sake of not being suspicious, they had a different team in a different car at each location, even though they still only held their stakeouts one at a time. Since Lucas and Karen were the only ones who could drive, one of them came along with each team, and the rest of them divided themselves. Adrien and Nino took one, then Marinette and Juleka. Once both teams had come back without seeing anyone even touch the building, Alya decided to reroute and stake out Talbot's house instead of the last storage unit.

Karen, luckily, agreed. "So." Karen said as they waited in the parked car, helpfully donated by a friend of Karen's for the day. "How're you holding up?"

Alya gave her a withering look. "This is so frustrating."

Karen laughed. "Mhmm. That's life."

Alya tapped her foot. "The Muldooneys visited the Hideaway, right? Does Talbot?"

Karen hummed. "He's a platinum member."

"Why don't we get him in the Hideaway, then? It's already extralegal, he can't exactly sue you."

"Because he knows we can't do anything either. All he has to do is refuse to say anything and we've done nothing but tell him we're on to him. We need evidence."

"What about a warrant? Robert Muldooney told us that Talbot bought Josh."

"Told us. Not the police department." Karen corrected her. "They only got him on poaching charges. Even Muldooney isn't stupid enough to point fingers at someone like Talbot on the record."

Alya groaned again. "I don't suppose my recording of the conversation qualifies?"

"Not if he didn't know you were recording."

"Damn it. Well, we won't get anything by waiting for him to walk in or out of his door."

"It's not about him coming and going, it's about what he's doing as he does. What's he carrying, what's he wearing. That kind of thing."

Alya pursed her lips. "But the real stuff is inside. If we could just get a picture."

"It would be evidence gained unlawfully."

"I don't care!" Alya leaned back and threw her arm over her face. "I don't care about the law! We can incriminate him later. All I want right now is to know where Josh is, and to make sure he's safe." Karen didn't respond. Alya figured it was because she disagreed. "I'm sending in Aipom."

Karen grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Alya, please wait. Just trust me. I know you want to see your friend, but if we're not careful we'll never catch Talbot."

Alya felt like she was going to crush Aipom's pokéball, but in the end she had to relent. _Fine. We'll do things your way. For now._

It took hours. Hours and hours and hours and then days. They'd seen Talbot enter the house, but nothing suspicious ever went on. Now knowing he was home, they decided to focus on the house rather than the storage units. They'd be able to tell if he went to one, after all.

But still, it was only on the third day – when Alya and Karen were back at the wheel – that anything interesting happened. The garage door opened, and a moving truck backed in. Alya exchanged a look with Karen. "He's not moving, is he?"

"No." Karen said. She scribbled down numbers on a pad. _License plate. Good._ While the truck was inside the garage (door down so they couldn't see), Karen texted the plate number to a coworker.

Alya waited on the edge of her seat. Not ten minutes later, the garage door opened once more and the moving truck pulled out. _Suspicious. Either he's really prepared or he's not moving furniture. That was way too quick._ "Follow it." She said, watching the truck head down the street.

"No." Karen said. "Be patient." She looked at her phone and sighed. "As I thought. It's not a real moving truck. Plate is a fake. I have someone putting the number in our system now, then we'll be able to find that truck wherever it goes."

"Good."

They waited. It took a frustratingly long time, but Karen's phone chimed once more. Karen paled when she looked at it. "Oh, no."

"What is it?" Alya asked. "Lost him?"

"No." She sighed. "No, I didn't lose him."

"What is it, then?" Karen showed her the phone, but the address, somewhere in downtown Shalour, meant nothing to Alya. "What about it? What's there?"

Karen shifted the car into gear and started driving. "I only know rumors, but they're not good ones."

"What kind of rumors?"

"Sex trafficking, mostly." Alya stifled a gasp. _Sex trafficking? If Josh is stuck in there, then… Oh, shit._ "Apparently a few Hideaway guests got invites to some sort of big thing around there. None that we know of went, of course, but they wouldn't tell us if they weren't going to refuse. Never found solid evidence, but with the poaching and Talbot buying pokémon… well things add up. And if Talbot is supplying, then that's a link to the Hideaway one way or another, and we need to take it out before it spreads."

"We need to take it out before more pokémon are raped, you mean."

"I thought that went without saying. My apologies."

Alya rolled her eyes. "So, what do we do about it?"

"That place, we're raiding."

"No concerns about a warrant or anything?"

"It's not the private property of an uber-rich business tycoon. We can get away with probable cause."

Alya grinned. "That's what I like to hear."

* * *

The raid was almost too vanilla. By the time they gathered together, the sun was just sinking below the horizon. Alya had Aipom with his camera ready to go, and Luxio ready in case things got hairy. Her friends all stood around her, ready for Karen's cue.

And then it came, and they went in.

Unlike the Hideaway, the main room of that significantly smaller establishment did not have an orgy in the middle of it. Most of the actual adult stuff went on in the back rooms. The lobby they entered into was just a greeting and dealing area.

They broke in, and the people in that room, seeing Mawile, Rhyperior, Luxio, and Plagg, almost immediately surrendered. "Keep an eye on them." Karen said. "I'll go through the other rooms. Lucas, take that hall."

Lucas went down one hall with Rhyperior, and Karen entered the other with her gun. Alya had no choice but to wait patiently and ensure no one tried any funny business. But no one did. People trickled out of the hallways Karen and Lucas went down, joining the others in the lobby, and eventually Lucas and Karen themselves returned. "No sign of him." Lucas reported.

"Damn it!" Karen holstered her gun and cracked her fingers. "He's slippery. Oh well, we've got this place, at least. Alya, you get what we needed?"

Alya nodded. Aipom had gone around while they waited, recording everything. He was currently on her shoulder while she held the camera. "Yep. Caught in the act."

"You can't do this!" One of the people said. "You Hideaway thugs!"

Karen seemed content to brush him off, but Alya approached. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

"You crush smaller businesses to stay in power." He spat. "We aren't doing anything wrong."

Alya tapped her chin. "Hmm. Maybe you can help me, then."

His eyes went wide. "What do you mean?"

"Do you do business with Zachariah Talbot?"

The man frowned. "He's come by once or twice."

"He's provided pokémon, hasn't he?"

"Which is perfectly within his rights."

"Not for sex trafficking it isn't." Alya said. "And we have reason to believe that the pokémon Talbot provided were unwilling. And, monsieur, rape is, in fact, wrong." The man trembled quietly as Alya stared him down. "No?" He didn't move or speak. "So, why don't you tell me where Talbot went, hmm?"

"Talbot." The man growled. "This is his fault."

"Mhmm. That's right. He led us right to you. The only question is why isn't he here now?"

"He took off not long ago. Must have known you were coming."

 _That would be bad. It would mean he's one step ahead of us. But even still we have him on the run. Won't be long now, Josh. We're on our way._

* * *

"Alya?" She turned to see Adrien standing nervously nearby. "Can I talk to you?"

She looked at the article she had been writing, laying out in no small detail the crimes of Zachariah Talbot. Since the raid on the brothel downtown, they hadn't made much more progress. A few more close calls, but nothing helpful. This article was Alya's way of flushing him out. She had testimony from a few people from the brothel and she could use Robert Muldooney's testimony anonymously. _Well, I could name him, I guess, but he wouldn't tell that information to the police. I have the recording but still things are a little too complicated there. I'll leave that stuff to Karen._

She figured, if enough people read it, it would be damaging enough to piss him off, make him slip up, then it would just be a matter of striking when the opportunity presented itself. It was a dangerous plan, but as he no doubt knew they were after him in the first place after the raid, she wasn't sure how much they could really lose by trying. She hadn't been updating her blog about their journey, for the most part, but she was still feeding just enough information that she knew she had a big enough following to make Talbot feel it. The problem was that her article had to be perfect. One mistake and Talbot could discredit her entirely.

With a heavy sigh, she saved her work and focused on her friend. "Of course. What's up?"

"What do you think Josh will be like?"

Alya arched her brow. Deciding this was something beyond a casual chat, she put down her pen and pushed away from the desk to better address Adrien. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I know he's changed physically. Ears and tail and… that. But what do you think he's going to be like?"

"You probably know more about the fusions than me. Why are you asking?"

"I just…" Adrien sighed. "I'm worried. I wish I could support him, but I don't even know where he is. I miss him, both of them, but I don't know what to expect when we find him."

"I'm sorry, Adrien. I don't know what to expect, either."

"How do you stay so motivated, then?"

Alya bit her lip. "Because it doesn't matter. No matter who he is now or what he thinks, he's in trouble." She shrugged. "And Talbot is a jackass and I'm going to feel great destroying his reputation."

That got Adrien to smile. "Of course, you will."

"Yeah. Look on the bright side! Think happy thoughts."

Adrien chuckled weakly. "Like what?"

"Well, if you still want to talk about Josh, you may as well address the fact that he's pretty much literally a furry."

Adrien covered his face with his hands. "What the heck, he is isn't he?"

Alya laughed. "Is that a thing that works for you?"

She laughed harder when she saw Adrien turn red. "What does _that_ mean?" He asked.

She just kept cackling. "You're the one who went there, buddy. Are you a closet furry?"

"Excuse you." Adrien, despite being redder than Marinette's Ladybug costume, stood up tall and feigned composure. "I am very much not a closet furry. I came out of the closet a long time ago."

"Ooh!" Alya exclaimed. "So, Josh's new ears and tail _does_ work for you."

"It depends." Adrien said, once again collapsing and covering his face. "I haven't actually seen him, remember? But… it's not bad. Probably." Alya giggled maniacally. "But it's inappropriate either way. Given his position, it feels really bad to think about him like that."

Alya knew she was getting close to the line of just going too far, but she couldn't resist. "What position would you rather have him in?"

"Alya! That is not what I meant!"

It took a while to calm her giggling, but she eventually managed it. "I know." She said. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself."

Adrien pouted a little. "It just feels… sort of fetishy. Given what we know about where he is."

Alya chuckled but nodded. "I get it. There's nothing wrong with fetishes, though. Just remember consent and who the heck cares if a tail drives you wild?"

"It does not! And still. It's more that it's Josh. He's been stuck there for so long now, to even think about something like that just feels really… kind of evil, honestly."

Alya sighed. "Think about romance instead, then."

"Uh, why? As a matter of fact, why are we talking about sex in the first place?"

"Because Josh is a furry, and so are you."

"So's Juleka."

"So am I. We're all furries. All of us."

"But, the point?"

"It's been half a year dude. I guess I'm just curious at this point. Still against a relationship?"

Adrien shrugged. "I don't think it really matters. Who'd I date if I wasn't? I know you're not offering."

Alya snickered. "Nah, I'm just nosy. Nino?"

He laughed. "Yes, but also no. We're just fine as best buds, thanks. Nino isn't about that, anyway."

"Our sweet, innocent boy."

"It's better you think that."

"Woah, excuse me? What's Nino get up to when I'm not looking?"

Adrien laughed. "Nothing, nothing. I'm just joking. You know he's ace. But he did spend quite a lot of time in the Hideaway from what I hear, so he can't be that innocent anymore."

"True." Alya laughed. "Marinette?"

Adrien made a long, non-committal groan. "Again, yes but no? Things are weird with her."

"Josh?"

"Before the fusion I would have said yeah, I'd give it a shot, but like, we don't know who he is right now so… a hard pass."

"Smart boy."

Adrien grinned bashfully and rubbed his neck. "You know, it was Josh who made me realize I'm bi."

"No way."

"Yeah. Obviously, this was a long time ago, but… you know. He's hot."

"Pfft. You can say that again. Let's hope he kept that ridiculous jawline."

"Oh please. We can only pray." The pair of them shared their laugh, but the atmosphere quickly returned to a more solemn heaviness. "I hope he's okay. Well, I know he's not okay, but I hope he will be."

"He will be." Alya said. "He'll have you, and he'll have the rest of us. It's not something he's just going to get over. None of this is for any of us. We're still not over the Lumiose attacks. Not completely." Adrien hummed in agreement. "But we're better. We're stronger, and we help each other. We'll just have to support him the same way. Right?"

"Yeah. If he lets us."

"Since when did that stop any of us?" Alya snickered. "We're like, the most aggressively supportive group I've ever met."

Adrien smiled, too. "Well, you are at least."

"Thank you."

He sighed. "But we have to save him, first."

"Yeah." Alya agreed. "I'm working on it."

"You really think that'll work? Surely he has a bunch of people trying to smear him. Why would he pay attention to this?"

Alya smiled. "That's the wrong question, my dude. What you should be asking is why would the people of Kalos pay attention to it. And that's quite simple, really. Because I'm Fox. Because I speak with the authority of Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Adrien pursed his lips. "You're a lot more confident than I am."

"Just look." Alya opened her blog on the computer and went into her old posts.

Adrien leaned in. "You've been updating this the entire time?"

"Not with the details, obviously. Just to say that we're not gone. That so long as Gabriel's case is open, we're still fighting. The people don't know yet where we are or how far in our investigation we've gotten, but they're waiting with bated breath for an update."

"You really know how to keep people in suspense."

"I've disclosed everything I could without giving us away. People know about Josh – from the news – and I've mentioned we're searching for him without going into specifics. I've also mentioned that this goes deeper than expected. If I come out and tell people about the sex trafficking and sufficiently support my argument that Talbot is part of it, we can start a wave. It may not knock him off his perch, but he's going to feel it."

Adrien furrowed his brow. "How far are you with it?"

"I'm mostly done. I just want to review it a few more times and revise a bit before posting."

"You know this isn't going to be a quiet thing. If you accuse Talbot, you're going to be talked about."

"Good. Let them talk. The truth will come out one way or another. Talbot can't hide from it."

"Can I read it?"

"Of course. Let me know if you find anything I should change." She brought up the article and talked about it with Adrien until they were both happy with its state. It was getting late when she decided it was ready for the internet, and she ended up posting it before crashing for the night.

Adrien smiled when she pressed the "post" button. "That should get his attention, if nothing else. You really can be mean when you want to."

"I'm only mean to bad people. You'll never get such a scathing article, don't worry."

"I'd hope not!" He laughed. "If I do something that deserves it I hope you'd just talk to me about it."

"Ah, that's no fun." She teased. "Writing passive-aggressive essays is how we do it."

"I will accept that only so long as you quote Shakespeare at least twice."

"Oh honey, I can definitely do that."

They giggled together and chatted some more before retiring for the night.

* * *

Alya didn't know what to expect, exactly, but she definitely was not expecting her phone to be so overloaded with notifications that it would stop responding. "Come on, come on, you stupid thing!" She hit it gently as she waited "Damn it."

"Uh, Alya?" Nino said. "You should probably look at this."

Alya went and joined Nino at the computer, trying to shut off her phone completely as she did. She leaned over his shoulder to look at the headline he had pulled up. "CEO accused of pokephilia." Alya read. Anger bubbled in her breast. "Always ignoring the real problem, aren't they?"

"No, really," Nino said, "Check it out. Big papers all over Kalos are picking up your article."

"Distribution?"

"A lot of them don't believe you, but a lot do, and even the ones that don't are spreading your article around."

"Great." Alya said. "We've started discourse. What's your next move, Talbot?"

Nino clicked on a different tab. "Deny everything." He said. "Obviously."

Alya skimmed through it. "Smear my sources, call me a kid, discredit investigative journalism, oh, and he even calls me a vigilante. How predictable." Alya grinned. "Oh, Talbot. You have no idea what's coming for you." She took the mouse from Nino and clicked through the headlines. "As I figured, most of our support comes from Lumiose." _The best way to get people on my side is to give them a face. Mine would be fine, but I think Ladybug and Chat Noir are the real icons. We'd be preaching to the choir, but luckily our base has a lot of influence in Kalos. Losing Lumiose could ruin Talbot._

 _But we can't just accuse. We need to explain why we dug into him in the first place._ "Marinette, Adrien, do you have your costumes?"

They both looked at her in surprise. "Uh, no." Adrien said. "I barely even have any clothes. You guys rescued me, remember?"

Marinette hummed. "With some fabric I could make quick masks, but the whole outfit is out of the question. I didn't bring mine or his."

"That'll do. Just wear red and black."

"You're going to interview us?" Adrien asked.

"We're all coming clean."

Nino frowned. "What about Lucas and Karen?"

"We don't need to reveal the Hideaway. Not yet, anyway. Just explain why we're in Shalour and why we're looking into Talbot. Once people hear about his link to Lailah and how he has Josh, he's cornered."

"Are you sure?" Marinette asked.

"Of course. It'll be Chat Noir's great comeback. Been a while since the people have seen you. They'll believe you."

Adrien and Marinette exchanged a look. "Okay." They said together.

"Go get ready. I'll plan out the video."

They took off, along with Juleka, leaving just Alya and Nino. Nino chuckled weakly. "What's going through your head?" He asked.

Alya frowned at the headlines in front of her. _"A wild accusation by children clearly seeing enemies in every corner." Well, Talbot, we'll see about that. We've laid the foundation, now we need to stay on the offensive. We can't let him breathe, otherwise he could rout us._ "I'm thinking." She answered Nino. "About how to stay ahead of his deflections. No doubt he'll try to make us reveal the Hideaway – if we come out on their side he can accuse us of pokephilia and discredit us."

"So, what do we do?"

"Our argument can't come from the Hideaway at all. It has to stem from Lailah. Everyone knows what Lailah did, but if we reveal that she did so with Gabriel's money-"

"And further incriminate Adrien's dad." Nino said.

Alya closed her eyes. "Yeah. And make it worse for Adrien's dad. The police know about his offshore bank account. They just haven't been able to close it. Adrien's already given them access to the history, they just can't legally close it yet. We may end up convincing the people who have control over that to let the Kalos Police freeze those funds."

Nino hummed. "I don't like it, but it would help us catch Gabriel, eventually."

"Exactly. Two birds with one stone. But even if they don't, all of that is public knowledge. We've got this under control. Much more than Talbot does, anyway. I just have to control the narrative well enough to overcome what he's no doubt going to throw at us."

Nino smiled. "Well, if anyone can do it, you can. You're the smartest girl I know."

"Thanks, Nino." She took a moment to appreciate the chaos she had wrought, and to bask in Nino's pride for her, and then it was back to work. "Copy his entire response. I'm going to get started on tearing it down. Then see if you can help Adrien and Mari. I love you, but this is going to take some focus."

Nino chuckled. "I get it. No worries, I'll let you work."

"Thanks."

He took off, and Alya sat down with Talbot on the screen in front of her and her pen twirling in her fingers.

* * *

Marinette and Adrien were ready to begin just the next day, to Alya's delight. She found a good spot in their rooms and signaled Aipom to start recording. _One, two, three._ "Hello everyone!" Alya said. It felt a little strange to address the internet while wearing her orange mask, but Marinette had made it for her, and she saw the wisdom in having it. "I'm Fox, and also Alya Césaire." She pulled the mask down around her neck. "Here with a special interview with Ladybug and Chat Noir."

The two waved at the camera. Alya smiled. "I apologize to all our fans who were concerned by our disappearance from Lumiose a few months ago. As so many of you suspected, we were following up on some loose ends regarding Gabriel Agreste, the man behind the Lumiose attacks last September where you really began to know us." She gestured to her guests. "As you can see, Chat Noir is safe and healthy, so please don't worry about him."

Adrien cleared his throat. "No." He said. "I'm alright. I went after my dad. That's why I vanished back then. He managed to capture me, and my friends rescued me. But I'm not the one we need to worry about right now. One of our friends, who came here to Shalour City to help me stop my dad, was kidnapped."

Alya nodded. "Ladybug, could you please explain the circumstances around the kidnapping?"

"Of course, Fox." Marinette took a deep breath. "As many of you know by now, Gabriel Agreste was not working alone. He worked with a woman named Lailah Keaton. She was the one who created the devices that mega evolved pokémon. This was all for the sake of harvesting Infinity Energy. With it, Gabriel hopes to enact his plan to revive his dead wife – following the story of Geosenge Town and the ultimate weapon that is said to lie beneath it. Lailah, however, was concerned with fusions. You've probably seen pictures of them in the news, but what you might not already know is that Joshua Keaton, one of our friends who helped us find and rescue Adrien, was taken by her and used in her experiments."

Adrien nodded. Alya could tell it was hard for him to keep his voice level, but he stayed totally professional the entire time. "She fused Joshua, her son, and my zoroark. Josh was in the hospital when Ladybug and the others raided Gabriel's studio and finally caught Lailah."

Marinette picked it up from him. "But Lailah had a backup plan. She was going to use the Infinity Energy that she and Gabriel had harvested to trigger a bomb in Shalour City. As such, she had a measure in place to get Josh out – so he wouldn't die with the rest of us." She took another deep breath. "Obviously we stopped her, and Josh should have been safe. But a pokémon in her control had broken into the hospital and kidnapped Josh. We have not seen him since."

Alya took it from there, mostly because it was the most careful bit. "We followed Lailah's trail. Thanks to Adrien, we were able to find out who was supplying Lailah the pokémon for her experiments – something he learned while imprisoned by her and his father. That led us to a poacher who had admitted to us that Josh was sent to him after Lailah was captured. We've been doing all we could to find out who took Josh from that poacher. But now, we know.

"The one who bought Josh was Zachariah Talbot. Though the poacher, who I've left unnamed for his own protection, refused to name Talbot in his confession, he had, in fact, pointed the finger when I questioned him off the record. That gave us our direction, and we have since found many suspicious doings around Talbot. Namely, the pokémon sex trafficking I referred to in my article. Shalour Police were already looking into the place, but when our investigation found a moving truck with fake license plates leaving Talbot's home and parking there – where we have since confirmed the crimes suspected – we found reason to believe the poacher's word.

"I was lucky enough to get a word in with some of the people who were arrested at the underground brothel, and more than a few have named Talbot as supplying several of the pokémon they kept there."

Adrien sighed. "Josh is my friend. He's our friend. And the fusion that Lailah put him through changed his body. We suspect that he's seen in that circle as something exotic. Help us find him. Talbot, in his response to Fox's article yesterday, accused us of being paranoid, of seeing enemies where there aren't any. But trust me when I say, we would not be here if we didn't have to. My father is still free. He's the reason we started this, and he's the reason we left Lumiose. We have no quarrel with Talbot – except of course that he has our friend."

"We know that Fox's article came as a surprise." Marinette said. "And so, we understand that many of you don't believe us. But now you know what we've been doing. You understand how we got involved in investigating Talbot. Our friend is still missing, and because of Talbot he may very well be being abused right at this very moment. You know our precedent. We wish we could leave this case to the cops. We have nothing to do with sex trafficking or pokephilia or anything like this. But Talbot brought our friend into it, so we can't ignore it."

Alya nodded along. "We just want to find our friend." She said. "If Talbot has nothing to hide, then he has nothing to worry about. I believe more than anyone that the truth will come out. If we're wrong in accusing him, you will hear our apology. But until he stops hiding behind his podium, accusing us of being scared children, and gives us any reason him to believe him over the myriad sources we've gathered that point to him, we will stand firm."

Marinette and Adrien both voiced agreement. "Thank you for hearing us out." Marinette said. "Stay safe and have a nice day."

Aipom gave them the signal, and they all relaxed. "Arceus." Adrien said. "That was harder than I expected."

Alya was already taking the camera to the computer. "Nino, got the transcript?"

"Yep." Nino said. "Somehow managed to keep up. I need to edit out the shorthand, but it should be good to go."

"Perfect. Can you do that while the video is rendering?"

"Of course."

Alya sighed. _Now we wait. Not long now. Let's see how you like this, Talbot._

* * *

The following day brought more media bustle. "Naturally, I sympathize with these kids, but they're still just children." Talbot said in his response. "That I have to take time to refute unprovoked attacks from children is ridiculous! I don't know why they chose to target me – perhaps they dislike one of my company's apps – but they clearly want to be heroes, even if it means creating a villain. They told you that they have a precedent of leaving things to the police? It's laughable. Look at the record of any high school student and tell me how theirs compares. And I know many of you have been saying that I should cooperate, but I'm afraid I simply can't. While I do sympathize with their struggle, if I begin opening my doors for anyone who unsoundly accuses me of wrongdoing, where would it end? That would set a dangerous precedent. It is on principle that I refuse, not for any emotional reason."

Alya felt herself burning. She'd never engaged someone like Talbot before. She'd taken part in media battles of course, but nothing on this scale. She hated it. She hated him. But, at the same time, she smiled. This was her element, and someone like Zachariah Talbot would never get the better of her. She would rake him across the coals. She would destroy him until he had no choice but to give up. _I'm coming for you._

"We explained in our last statement exactly why we targeted Mr. Talbot." Alya wrote that evening, just a portion of her response. "He has no leg to stand on if all he's going to do is repeat questions after we have answered them. As for Ladybug's comment on precedent, if you look at the records of the Lumiose attacks you will see that she was right. The number of attacks that we intervened in only added up to a fraction of the attacks as a whole. Unless mega evolution successfully triggered – necessitating our own mega evolution capabilities – we never once interrupted after the police had arrived to contain it. And since then we have been completely out of the way of the law until recently when we went after Adrien, who was searching for his father.

"And in fact, we completely agree with Talbot that he should not bend over to unsound accusations. Unfortunately, saying that the testimonies of multiple people and the record of unlicensed moving trucks moving between his home and a known pokephiliac brothel don't count as evidence does not make our accusations any less sound. We accuse him because we have reason to believe what we say. He keeps trying to attack our character rather than our argument. You tell me, who acting like the child here?"

Their battle turned into a war, and Alya saw in his eyes how it wore on Talbot. Every time he made a response, he'd get angrier, he'd get more frightened, and it strengthened her. She knew he was approaching the breaking point. He had lost business, people boycotted his company, they protested in the streets outside the building. And she'd be lying if she said she had no hand, covert or otherwise, in expediting those events. She had set the flame that would consume him, and he had no way to smother it, and she was busy creating a wildfire.

With every formal attack, there were five informal ones. Her friends in Lumiose led the charge, when the situation was explained. They helped Alya organize. She left comments on forums suggesting gatherings. Suggesting protests. Suggesting tactics targeting his company, what he had built, rather than him as a person – because for someone like Talbot, _that_ was what would hurt him. His stocks went down, he became emotional, and then Alya received a very unexpected call.

"Hello?"

"Is this Alya Césaire?"

"This is she." Alya smirked. She recognized the voice. It was the one she had been refuting for the better part of three weeks now.

"I am Zachariah Talbot. I'm calling to inform you that should you refuse to stop posting slander about me, I will have a team of lawyers take you to court for harassment."

Alya scoffed. She had been checking the entire time with Karen, so she knew that she had never once stepped out of bounds. "Aw." She said. "Is big bad Zachariah scared of a little girl? You really think taking a seventeen-year-old girl to court over her blog is going to help you? By all means, be my guest."

"Of all the insolent-"

"Oh, believe me. I know you'd probably win. You're loaded. You have the best lawyers there are. But we both know a case like that isn't about who wins, don't we? It's about image. It's about beating me down and discrediting me so you can say I'm delirious. But think about that image for a moment. Think about my image. Who would believe you if you won? People aren't stupid. They know a legal battle will always end in your favor. That charade won't fool anyone."

Talbot was quiet for a long moment. "What do you want?"

"I want my friend."

"I do not have him."

"That's unfortunate, then. Because unless we find something else, and believe me we are looking, you're the prime suspect. Covering your ears and pretending we don't have evidence on you is not going to get us off your back."

She waited for him to respond, but he simply ended the call instead. She scoffed and tossed her phone down, returning to her work on the computer. _He's so desperate. I've got him._

They kept up their game for only a few more days before it all came to a head with one more unexpected call, this one in the middle of the night while she was up late deciding on her next attack. "Alya." Karen said over the phone. "Lucas wants us at the Hideaway right away. He said Josh is there."

"What?!" Alya almost screamed. "We'll be down in ten."

"Hurry. I don't know how big our window is."

Alya scrambled. She woke her friends in a rush and was out the door with them behind her, all of them in their pyjamas, and they sprinted to the red door in the alley behind the malasada shop. It took all of Alya's self-control not to blast the door in again, and she probably only succeeded because Karen was opening the door for them after only a few seconds.

They bounced in the elevator, every one of them wired with the news they'd heard, and when the doors opened they ran out into the Hideaway. Karen's presence allowed them to bypass the tedious process of checking in, thankfully.

Lucas was tapping his foot impatiently just inside the common room. Next to him was an energetic arcanine that Alya knew. _Rex._ Her own arcanine had, in the long time they were investigating, grown somewhat attached to him, as he had to her. Rex jumped up on Alya the moment he saw her, and she got a face full of arcanine slobber from his greeting. "Alright, alright, Rex, down." She said. "I'm sorry, but we have other things to focus on today. I'll let you play with Arcanine later, alright?"

Lucas breathed out in relief. "Thank Arceus. About time. Rex saw Josh on the platinum floor."

"When?" Marinette asked.

"Almost thirty minutes ago now. But I called in and the police have been monitoring all entrances and exits to the floor. He should still be here."

"The police didn't go in yet?"

"No. We don't know what we're dealing with, and the platinum floor has only people we don't want to piss off. No one's left, though, so it shouldn't be a problem. Karen, you think the kids can go in?"

"They're more capable than most of the cops here." Karen said. "If it comes to a scrap, it'd be good we waited. If not… maybe they'll make sure Josh is okay. He must be terrified."

Alya took a steadying breath. "Okay." She said. "Let's go down, then. Rex, can you show us where you found Josh?"

Rex barked and led the way down the hallway. They took the host elevator to the platinum floor and followed Rex down the hallway to a room like any other on the floor. "This is it." Lucas said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Adrien asked. He reached out and turned the handle.


	16. Ross

Ross could not believe that just showing them a good time once bought him over twenty minutes of the fools bickering about their escape plan. None of the three in the room with him could agree to any plan where they were separated at any point, for any reason, because one of the others might take off with Ross.

It was kind of hilarious.

"Now you've done it!" The woman hissed. "The cops are at the doors. I told you we should have gotten out as soon as the host left!"

"I said that!" The silky-voiced man said. "You just kept going on about how you don't trust me!"

"Hush." The breathy-voiced man said. "We need to get out of here. Most important is to make sure Ross isn't seen."

 _You couldn't do that if you tried. I could literally just make an image of myself as you try to sneak me past. I've got checkmate._ He smirked, watching the group. The breathy man narrowed his eyes at him. "You did this, didn't you?" He asked. "What did you do?"

Ross shrugged. _Really, nothing. Just took a peek is all. Honestly, I really did get lucky with Rex being right there._ The woman grabbed the breathy man, holding him back. "Now isn't the time. We need to focus on getting out."

"Still might want to tie him up again." _Hell no._

"Oh, if it'll make you feel better!" _Hell, no, you stupid, stupid people._

The breathy man picked up the ball gag, rope, and blindfold he was brought in with and started to approach Ross. Ross backed up against the headboard of the bed, pressing against the wall. "Be a good boy." The breathy man said. "We're just going to move you a bit."

Ross growled. _Like hell you are._ The breathy man, as he started to climb onto the bed, collapsed. He writhed wildly, moaning involuntarily in such a way that totally ruined the stoic image he had been trying to maintain. _Embarrassing._ Ross smirked again. The breathy man at that moment was feeling pleasure bordering on painful. It was a full body orgasm dialed up and relentless, beyond even what Ross dared give him when he showed off earlier to get them arguing. This one wasn't meant to impress, but to cripple. A nagging in his mind told him to just go for it and hurt the man, but he liked the irony of disabling him through pleasure alone.

The other two realized what was happening and leapt to restrain Ross, but he had all of them in the same position at the drop of a hat. _Should've just kept arguing._ He stood, looking down impassively at the three. _I should thank you, though. Your incompetence is my escape. So, thanks._

He hopped off the bed, listening over the moans for anyone on the other side of the door before he opened it. "This is it." A voice that he recognized, sort of. It was vague. He wasn't entirely sure he knew it, only that it sounded familiar.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ross froze. That was a voice he definitely knew. One he hadn't hoped to hear again. _Adrien?_ And he stood, naked, reaching for the door handle, as it turned all on its own and swung towards him.

And he was face to face with Adrien Agreste.

And Adrien Agreste went beet-red in the face and spun on his heel to face the opposite direction. Ross couldn't do anything but laugh. "Josh?" Adrien said. Slowly, he turned around again to face him. "It's really you."

Ross grunted. _Josh. For good or ill it's not really my name._ He shook his head. Adrien's eyes widened. "…Rocco?"

Ross slowly and deliberately signed his name. "Ross." Adrien read. "But… you are, or… were… Josh, right? Just, haha, just making sure."

Ross nodded and smiled. "New name." He signed. "The old ones felt weird."

"Oh. Okay." Adrien laughed weakly. "But you're okay." He reached up but hesitated before touching Ross.

Ross took a step back, out of Adrien's reach, and gestured to the three others with him. "They tried to buy me, sort of." He signed. "Talbot pawned me off to get rid of you guys."

Adrien furrowed his brow. "Of course. Catch that, Alya?"

"Most of it. Those are bad guys and Talbot thought giving us Ross would save his skin, right?"

"Basically."

Marinette shook her head. "Thank you for translating. But… what's happening to them?"

Ross chuckled. _Oh, I guess I can let them go now._ He ended the illusion and let the three, panting, recover themselves. Unfortunately for them, the cops were already there.

Juleka approached him, reaching into a backpack. "Here." She said. "Some clothes."

He'd been naked for so long he almost forgot. With a chuckle, he signed his thanks and slipped the loose shorts on. That seemed to allow Adrien to relax a little more. "Dude." He said. "You're only signing. Can you talk at all?"

Ross shook his head. "I can speak to pokémon but haven't managed our language yet."

"I see. Can I, uh…" He held out his arms. Ross hesitated, then jumped into them. He wrapped his own arms around Adrien and held him as tightly as he could. _It's so good to see you again._ "Woah. Heh." Adrien relaxed into the hug. "I'm glad you're back." He whispered. Ross' ear twitched, which made Adrien laugh. Ross squeezed him harder. "Ow, dude, I need to breathe."

Ross reluctantly let him go. "Sorry." He signed.

"I'm just happy to see you. New bits and all." Ross leaned into Adrien's hand, letting him fondle his ear for a moment. "I was worried." Ross just hugged him again and nuzzled into his neck.

"Aw." Alya said with a smile. "They're so cute."

Ross backed off from Adrien for good and turned to the others. "Thank you." He signed. "For finding me."

"From what I saw, it looked like you had it handled." Juleka said.

"But there's more to do." Ross signed, looking to Marinette, even though he knew one of the others would have to translate for her.

Once Juleka had, Marinette asked, "What do you mean?"

"Talbot."

Alya made a growl that rivalled his own. "Oh, don't worry." She said. "We're taking him down."

"We need to save the others."

"Others?" Adrien asked. "What others?"

"Talbot has a whole bunch of us. One of them helped me a lot. I need to repay the favor."

"Do you know where they are?" Alya asked. Ross shook his head. _I was always blindfolded._ "Damn. Oh well, we'll save them. Don't worry."

 _I wasn't worried. Talbot is paying, one way or another._

* * *

"So… Ross." Adrien said. Ross looked up from Juleka's phone, given to him so he could catch up on current events while everyone else was out handling the rest of the business with the three who tried to buy him from Talbot. Adrien stood awkwardly in the doorway of the room the Hideaway had temporarily provided him.

Ross smiled.

"I… I'm sorry if this is rude, or insensitive or… I don't know. But I have to ask." He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "How much of you is Rocco, and how much is Josh?"

Ross stopped smiling. He looked at his knees, then back up at Adrien, then shifted and patted the bed next to him, inviting Adrien to sit. _How much of me is Josh? How much is Rocco?_ He shook his head. "All of me." He signed, eventually.

Adrien furrowed his brow. "What does that mean?"

 _Well, let's put it this way. I have memories of both lives._ "I remember being both." He signed. _It's like Lucario said._ "I'm a fusion. I'm both Rocco and Josh, but neither without the other was me."

"Oh." Adrien said. "That clears things up, I guess."

Ross laughed. He laid back on the bed and pulled Adrien down with him. Forgoing signing, Ross whispered into Adrien's ear. "Just roll with it." But Adrien didn't understand, couldn't have. He shivered from Ross' hot breath on his ear, and his blush ran all the way down his neck to under his shirt. Ross grinned. _You're adorable._

Adrien scrambled back up into a sitting position, and Ross unwillingly followed. But it would be easier to sign that way, and he knew Adrien couldn't actually understand him otherwise. _And we probably need to have a serious conversation._ "So, uh, you remember being Rocco? You remember everything Rocco went through?"

Ross nodded.

"And you can talk to pokémon."

He nodded again. _Naturally._ _I am one._

Adrien chuckled awkwardly. "Wow. I don't want to say it, but Lailah's machine really is amazing. Terrible, obviously, but amazing."

Ross agreed. _I'll hate Lailah for forever, but I don't begrudge her discoveries. It really is super cool, scientifically, if grossly unethical._ "Yeah." He signed, evidently surprising Adrien. "I can even use illusions. And given Josh's body was the basis for mine, it's pretty neat."

Adrien smiled. "Yeah. I was worried, but you really are both of them, aren't you? Only Josh could get so excited over being forcefully fused with a pokémon."

"Science is science. I'd obviously recommend never repeating the experiment, but the results are fascinating. Lailah may have killed Rocco and Josh, but she did create what she wanted."

"What's that?"

"A new understanding between humans and pokémon." Ross grinned. "I'm both. I can understand and talk to both."

"Oh." Adrien said. "And you're okay with that?"

Ross shrugged. "I hate her, but I'm not super upset about myself. I'm mad about what she did to me, but just as far as living this way, I'm alright."

"It's not weird? Having two different minds?"

Ross chuckled. "It doesn't work that way." He signed. "I only have one mind. It's me. Ross. I have Josh and Rocco's memories, but they died when I was made. It's not like having a voice in my head backseat driving."

"Oh."

Ross cringed. "Sorry. Do you hate me?"

Adrien stared at him blankly. "Hate you?"

"Because I killed your friends."

"You didn't do anything!" Adrien exclaimed. He took Ross by the shoulders. "You're a victim in this, not…" He let go and focused on his knees instead, curling up and wrapping his arms around them. "Honestly, I never blamed you. It was Lailah that killed Josh and Rocco. But…" He forced a smile. "Alya told me to look on the bright side, so… at least I got to meet you because of it."

"You're going to miss your friends, though."

"Yeah, but you remind me of them. If you'll forgive me for always comparing you to them." He chuckled.

Ross smiled as well. "I can't exactly blame you."

"It's weird, but you are both of them. So even though I did lose them, at the same time, I didn't. You know? And I just… want to be able to know you, too." Ross worried his lip. _Fuck, he really is perfect, isn't he?_ "Will you let me?"

Ross raised his brow. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You only came to Shalour because of me. If it weren't for me, you might have never run into Lailah, and…"

Ross shook his head. "Stupid." He signed. "I came to Shalour _for_ you. And with you, remember? I could never hate you."

"Really?"

The shine in Adrien's eyes was too much for Ross to resist. He reached up and took Adrien's chin in one hand, then leaned over and gently pressed his lips to Adrien's cheek. "Of course." He signed, after he had backed off, grinning at how red Adrien's face had turned. "I love you."

Adrien covered his face with his hands. "U-um. I love you too, but… that sort of made me think you meant it another way."

Ross snickered and nodded. He had been so confused about Adrien. His mind didn't know how to merge his conflicting memories, but once he actually laid eyes on Adrien again, things made sense. _Of course, I do. How could I not?_

Adrien squeaked. "O-oh." Ross watched him try to recover. "I-uh, I… Well… I'm flattered, but…"

He reached out and took Adrien by the shoulders, whispering in the language Adrien didn't understand. "Relax." He pulled back and signed so Adrien could understand. "Don't worry."

"But…"

Ross smiled. "I wasn't asking for anything. I was just saying a fact."

Adrien covered his face again. "Arceus, this is just like Alya's fanfiction."

Ross blinked, stunned momentarily, then burst out laughing. Slowly, Adrien joined in until they were both clutching their stomachs. Ross sidled up to Adrien, wiggling his brow. "Maybe not just like." He signed.

Adrien turned even redder, if it were possible. "Uh, no, Alya writes pure fluff exclusively. Excuse you for thinking anything else."

"I do not believe that for a second."

"Okay, Alya lets me read pure fluff exclusively."

"That makes more sense." Ross giggled along with Adrien. "I have to ask." He signed. "Does Alya really write fanfiction about us?"

"Oh, way too much. What do you think she does in her spare time?"

"I have to read it. Does that mean she ships us?" Ross grinned. With a wink, he added. "Because I do, too."

"She ships all of us with everyone." Adrien said. "Apparently, her, Mari, Nino, and I are getting married and raising like five kids or something. She's got it all planned."

"Can I join in?"

Adrien laughed. "At this point, you may as well." They giggled together some more before Adrien brought them back on topic. "But… you really like me? Like, romantically?" Ross bit his lip and nodded. "Uh, wow." Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't… I didn't expect that." Ross just waited. _He needs to process that in his own time. It must have been surprising for him._ "Um…" Adrien looked away nervously. "But… you were… with Talbot. I don't know." He shook his head. "I know you're not asking me for anything, but what would you want to do about that?"

Ross tilted his head. _What would I want to do? I want to feel you. I want to kiss you._ "Not sure." He signed. "Date, maybe?"

Adrien worried his lip. "Are you even okay doing that? We never talked about what Talbot did. And your back is… He was obviously not good with you."

The skin on Ross' back crawled. "No. He wasn't. But you would be." He sighed. "I'm probably better than you think. I'm not going to pretend I'm not damaged, but don't be afraid to show affection."

"Are you sure?"

"Maybe don't sneak up on me, but if I know it's you, I'm okay." Adrien still looked unconvinced, so Ross sighed and elaborated. "While I was in there, I met a guy who helped me sort myself out. We helped each other handle our situation."

"You mentioned someone else in there before."

Ross smiled. "Lucario. He's very brave. Picked me up when I started falling. And anyway, I don't want to associate affection with Talbot or that place. I'd much rather have someone like you, someone I trust, help me change that."

"So you do associate them together, then."

"Sort of." Ross said. "Rocco knew a lot of affection. I remember all the time with you. But I also remember the time before. And with Talbot… there's a lot I'd rather be yours. Sex is something I've only experienced in that kind of context, but affection is as good as bad. There's you. There's Lucario. We weren't exactly cuddly, but it was comforting having him close to me. A lot like it is with you. That's affection. The bad stuff is just physical. Affection has more to it, I think."

Adrien smiled sadly. "Yeah. I think so, too. I don't… ahem. I don't think I can help you with the… sex bit. But if you're comfortable with affection I'm happy to provide. I don't want you associating it with that place, either." Ross hugged him to the bed, nuzzling into him happily. "But… I don't know about dating, either." Adrien said. Ross felt Adrien's hand on his head, gently petting him between the ears. "Things are too confusing to consider something like that." _Makes sense._ "And it would hurt one of my friends."

Ross frowned and lifted himself up so he could look Adrien in the eye. Sitting back so he had his hands, he signed, "I understand not wanting to date. But don't take yourself off the market just because Marinette would be hurt if you did. That's not fair to either of you. Obviously, there's some reason you're not dating her, so either get over that, or get over her." Adrien blinked, a bit taken aback. "Sorry." Ross signed. "I just mean that she's your friend. You can't just live alone forever because she'd be jealous of any boyfriend you did get. She wouldn't want that any more than you do."

Adrien sighed. "You're right. This is just… too fast, though."

"I'm not saying date me." Ross signed. "I'm saying don't shut down the option of dating anyone because you're worried about your friend. Trust me, I know things are weird right now, especially with us. I just…" Ross frowned and sat back pulling his knees up to his chest. "I just want to feel loved. Instead of used. That's all. I don't need a boyfriend yet. That's why I didn't ask."

"Ross." Adrien's voice sounded broken. "I…" Ross felt Adrien's hand on his cheek. He looked up at the green eyes that looked into his. "I do love you. You know that, right?"

Ross smiled, nodded, and leaned into Adrien's hand. He could feel it. That little touch conveyed so much to him. Adrien leaned closer. Ross felt Adrien's lips on his cheek, and then Adrien hugged him tight. Adrien chuckled into Ross' neck. "Oops." Adrien said. "That was romantic, wasn't it? Right after I said no."

Ross couldn't restrain his grin. "Yeah, but it's okay. Romance can exist without dating. Maybe if it's okay with you we can just… court each other? For now."

Adrien laughed. "So long as we both understand there's no promises. I still have a lot to figure out, and I can tell you I'm not even considering a boyfriend until after I deal with Dad."

"Honestly, if it was Lailah still out there I'd say the same thing. I know it's a weird arrangement, but… just for now, yeah? Do you think that would be good for you?"

"I don't know." Adrien chuckled. "Honestly, I'm not sure if it's because you're part Rocco or what but… I just really feel better when you're close."

"Me too. I feel safe here. I haven't felt safe since I woke up as Ross." He laughed. "So, not dating, but more than friends. It might be good for us. If it's not, we just tell the other and it's over. No hard feelings, right?"

"If you're sure."

"Never been more sure of anything."

Adrien chuckled. "The only bad thing about sign language is it's hard to talk and hug at the same time."

"Then I'll just need to learn to talk again." Ross signed before tackling Adrien back to the bed. They laughed for a few moments, and then just relaxed.

And Ross wasn't lying. For the first time ever, in his whole short life as a fusion, he felt safe. But at the same time, he felt apprehensive, he felt scared, not because he felt he was in danger, but because he knew that Talbot was still out there, that Lucario was still in his grasp. _I'm fine, but there are others who are still suffering. So, I have to do something about it. That's what you're all about, isn't it, Lucario? Don't worry. I'll bring the cavalry._

* * *

"Adrien, Ross, look alive! We need to- oh." Alya had barged into the room, Aipom on her shoulder, and stopped in the doorway when she saw them. Ross instinctively tensed up, in his chest a panic swelled that he wasn't used to. _Talbot didn't scare you this much_

 _Because it's not about Talbot, it's about going back._

Adrien's hand on his head soothed him, and he sat up to look at Alya. Alya leaned against the doorframe and smirked. "That was quick." She said.

Adrien groaned. "It's not what you think. We just fell asleep." _Well, it's a little what you think._ "What's up? Everything been sorted?"

"Yeah." Alya said. She gestured to Aipom. "Talbot no doubt already has a statement prepared for when it comes out Ross has been found. We need to preempt him, or we lose ground." She sashayed into the room, kneeling next to the bed to get closer to Ross' level. He looked her in the eye. "I know it might be hard to talk about, but this would work well if you could tell us what you went through. If we can't get ahead of Talbot quickly, he could shut down the investigation, and we won't be able to save the others he has locked up." She put her hand on his shoulder. "If it's too hard, we'll make do, but your statement could be just what we need."

Ross looked over to Adrien, then back to Alya. He put a hand over his throat. "That's fine." Adrien said. "I can translate on camera. If you want to."

"It's up to you." Alya said. "But we don't have much time. I can't stall the official report. Since we found you here, there's some trouble with exactly what to say. That buys us time, but it would be most effective if people heard the truth from your mouth. Hands. Whatever." She smiled. "Does Talbot know you can talk? This was a desperate move."

Ross shook his head. "I don't think so." He signed.

"That's his downfall, then. He should have been more careful. Karen said the police here would take your testimony soon, but if you're up for it I'd like to do it. I'll share it with the cops, so you don't have to repeat yourself. I just want to get it on video, so there's no doubt about your words."

Ross nodded. "We can do it now."

Alya grinned. "Perfect. Aipom, careful of the background. On your mark."

Aipom found a spot on the end of the bed and held up the camera. Ross sat cross-legged next to Adrien, ready for his role in the video. Alya jumped into bed with them, so she'd be in shot as well. Ross shifted a little, sandwiched between Alya and Adrien. Aipom gave them their cue, and Alya waited just a few more seconds before beginning. "Hello everyone. Alya Césaire back once again to update you all on the Talbot case. As you can see, I have a special guest here with me. Care to introduce yourself?" Ross signed his name for her. Alya nodded. "The fusion has, unfortunately, left him unable to speak, so we have to communicate with sign language. Chat Noir, you'll be translating for our audience, correct?"

"Of course." Adrien said. "I'd be happy to."

"Very good. First things first, a few little details relating to the fusion. This one here is now going by Ross, but as is obvious, he's the one who was created when Lailah Keaton fused Chat Noir's zoroark and her son, Joshua Keaton. He's also the one we've been searching for this entire time we've been talking about Josh. I just want to be clear that though we're calling him Ross now, he's the same person. The fusion has given him a new identity, so he adopted a new name to match. In your own words, Ross, could you describe why you have a new name?"

Ross exchanged a look with Adrien. "Josh is dead." He signed, and Adrien repeated. "Without Rocco, Josh wasn't me. And vice-versa. I'm a fusion. Neither of the individuals before it were me, so neither name fits me."

Alya nodded. "Okay. Now on to what everyone is no doubt waiting for. Ross, we found you! We're all so glad you're back."

"Thank you. I'm glad to be back."

"Our audience must be wondering where we found you, and whether Talbot is involved. Could you describe our reunion, please?"

Ross hesitated, then signed, "After the fusion, I was nursed back to health by the Muldooneys." Ross noticed Adrien say "poachers" instead of naming them and figured there must be a reason. "Talbot bought me from them and kept me in a basement. He raped me and others in there regularly, and only brought us out to take us somewhere that he could charge other people to rape us." Adrien visibly cringed when he had to say what Ross was signing, but he pushed on. _I think this is bothering him more than me._

"And just to be absolutely certain." Alya pulled a picture of Talbot out of her pocket, showed it to the camera, and then to Ross. "This is the man who raped you?"

"A lot of men raped me, but yeah, he's the one who kept me locked up." Ross growled. _Talbot. We're taking you down._

"Thank you, Ross." She put the picture away. "And how did you manage to escape?"

"I didn't, really. He came in really angry this morning and told me I'm more trouble than I'm worth. He threatened to kill me but said that my friends would never leave him alone if he did. I think you pushed him hard enough that he just got rid of me as a last resort to make you back off." He smiled at Alya. "What did you do, anyway?"

Alya chuckled darkly. "You saw some of it, right? I'll make sure you're all caught up once we're done here. Our audience already knows that side of the story, so I don't want to waste too much time on camera rehashing it." Ross nodded and gestured for her to continue. "So, Talbot got rid of you."

"Yeah. I don't think he knew I could talk. I've never signed for him, and I haven't been able to speak verbally again yet. He must have thought giving me to you guys would be safe."

"Well, that was a gross miscalculation, wasn't it?"

Ross chuckled. "No doubt."

"Could you tell us exactly what happened when he got rid of you?"

"He brought me to another brothel. We've done that before – so he could make money off me – but this time he just abandoned me there. Apparently, he called in some people to take me off his hands. They were a lot less careful, so all I had to do was impress them and they were too busy arguing amongst themselves about who'd get me, and I was able to slip out."

"And this was in another brothel?" Alya asked. Ross saw something in her eyes that warned him. _The Hideaway has been helping, that's right. We don't want to out them right now._

"As far as I knew." He signed. "I was blindfolded and brought to a room with a bed in it. Didn't have any reason to think it wasn't, but for all I know it could have been a hotel room." He shrugged. "Just know I got into the building proper and got out. I don't know what all went on in there. You all found me almost right away. I figured you heard something and were coming for me."

Alya nodded. "Exactly right. We've had an ear to the ground for a while and when we heard a rumor about a fusion we could take for free, we knew it had to be you. So, we came to get you back, and stop anyone that wanted to keep you like Talbot did."

Ross smiled. He knew it wasn't entirely accurate. They had both lied for the protection of the Hideaway, but it was close enough. "Thank you." He signed. "You saved me."

"We only did what we had to. You're our friend, we couldn't leave you behind." Alya touched his shoulder and turned to the camera. "And there you have it, everyone. Ross himself, naming Talbot as his captor and shedding light on exactly what Talbot does behind closed doors. Any final words, Ross?"

"Yes." Ross looked to Adrien, then directly into the camera. "I wasn't the only one Talbot kept chained up, and I wasn't the only one Talbot sold or raped. He got rid of me to save himself, but he still has a lot of pokémon locked up. We need to save them."

Alya nodded. "As he says, dear viewers. Talbot still hasn't payed for his crimes, and he's still continuing to do them. You know that our purpose is Gabriel Agreste and the mega evolutions. We only spent so much time on Talbot because of Ross. Now that we have him back, we could leave the rest to the police." Ross bristled and growled quietly. _You might, but I'm not. I'm taking him down with my own two hands. I'm getting Lucario out of there one way or another._ "But this is personal now." She continued. "So, we plan to assist the police until Talbot is in custody and the pokémon he is keeping are saved." Ross smiled. _That's my girl. Scared me for a second there, but I should have known better._ "Thank you for your time. Alya Césaire, signing off."

* * *

Ross' testimony was enough for the police to finally issue a warrant for Talbot's arrest, and the searching of all his properties. Everything happened rapidly, so that Talbot had no chance to react. The police were already on his doorstep when the official announcement of Ross' recovery was released. Alya's worries were unfounded. Talbot didn't even have a chance to refute them.

Teams of cops went to all of his properties in Shalour, but Ross remembered the small glimpses of the outside of the basement that he managed to see. He assumed, based on the options, the most likely location was Talbot's home. Alya's story of the moving truck made him certain.

Adrien took his hand. "You going to be okay?" He asked. "We don't need to go in."

Ross growled at the house in front of them. _Yes, I do. I can't leave Lucario._ He squeezed Adrien's hand, and stepped forward.

He felt weird being in a position of such power. He still didn't have his pokémon back. Adrien told him that they were currently being taken care of by the police, and he should be reunited with them soon. He was in a place where he'd only ever been dominated. But Talbot wasn't there. Talbot was already in custody. There was no great showdown, no final battle. Ross just walked in.

Most of the home was unfamiliar, so it took some searching, but he eventually found the room he'd seen before Talbot blindfolded him that last time, two days previously. From there, finding the door to the basement was easy. He breathed out unsteadily and reached for the lock.

One deadbolt. Another. A chain. Turn the handle, then push.

The basement was dark, but Ross could see as clearly as when he had lived down there. He hadn't even realized just how dark it was until he was coming down from the light. It only just occurred to him then that perhaps his eyes really did change, and he had better night vision than a human.

But that was just a nagging in the back of his mind, a fleeting thought that blew away before he could truly grasp it. What really consumed him, what obsessed him, was the blue pokémon timidly casting his gaze up the stairs.

Ross took the steps three at a time, falling more than running down to reach Lucario. "Ross?" Lucario whined. "You're back?"

Ross tackled him in a hug, sweeping him off his feet and spinning him around. "We got Talbot." He said aloud. "My friends caught him. He's in jail now. You're safe. You're free."

Lucario hesitated. "Really?"

"Promise. Everything's okay now." He heard Lucario's breathing get more and more shaky as he started crying. Ross took Lucario's face in his hands. "You're safe. We all are."

"Thank you."

Ross smiled and moved aside so Lucario could look up the stairs at Adrien, Alya, Marinette, Nino, and Juleka. "Thank them. They're the ones that caught Talbot."

"Those are your friends?"

"Mhmm. The girl with glasses, her name's Alya. She's the one who's really responsible for bringing down Talbot. She beat him."

"Is Adrien with them?"

"Yeah. Light hair, on the left."

Lucario grinned. "I'm so happy I get to meet them."

"Come on." Ross took Lucario's paw and guided him up the stairs.

Adrien smiled. "Lucario. Ross told us about you. Thanks for looking out for him."

"I should say the same thing." Lucario said happily. Ross laughed.

Karen looked over them, into the basement. The other pokémon down there seemed to begin to understand what was happening and were gathering around the base of the stairs. "Leave them to us." Karen said. "We'll make sure they're taken care of. If you'll excuse us. Hopkins, Bishop, on me." She and two more officers started down the stairs.

Some of the pokémon down there fled back to their spots, curling up tight in a corner, trying to make themselves small. Ross looked to Lucario. "I'll help them." Lucario said. "I can reach them, I think."

Ross nodded. "We'll be just outside. We need to search the rest of the house for anything to add to Talbot's sentence."

"Okay. I'll see you soon?"

"Definitely. You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Good. Oh, and say thanks to your friends for me. For bringing us together again."

"Of course."

Lucario hopped back down the stairs, looking back for just a moment to say, "It's really nice to finally see you happy."

Ross turned to his friends, who all looked at him with expressions of varying degrees of confusion. "He said thank you." Ross signed. "And he's glad he got to meet you."

Adrien grinned. "I'm glad to meet him, too. I hope we can be friends."

"I know you will be." Ross smiled. _Lucario has a point. I don't think I've ever been this happy._ With Lucario, who had supported him so much. Who'd done some stupid, stupid things to try to help him, all with no hope or want of anything in return. With Adrien who lit up like the sun and warmed his skin and his heart and all the places that had turned cold in that dank basement. With Alya who was so fiery and had the same drive he did, who knew exactly how to tear Talbot down in a way that was honestly much more elegant and ethical than what Ross had planned. All the others, too, were there to support him, to make sure he was okay and found his resolution to this chapter of his life. It was all too overwhelming.

"Are you alright?" Adrien's entire demeanor shifted when Ross started crying.

For Ross, just being happy in the first place was enough reason to cry. He wrapped his arms around Adrien's neck and kissed him on the lips. He felt Adrien tense in surprise but quickly relax into it. It was chaste, innocent, full of the pure joy in Ross' heart. The only way he could adequately express himself. "Thank you." He whispered, millimeters from Adrien's lips. Satisfied with how Adrien had relaxed the first time, he dared for one more, this one just a peck. "Thank you." He knew his voice was nothing more than a heavy breath to Adrien, but he thought that his meaning got across anyway.

Juleka coughed pointedly, raising an eyebrow teasingly at them. Adrien blushed. Ross laughed. "Is there something you wanted to tell us, Adrien?" Juleka asked.

Adrien covered his face with his hands. Marinette let out a high-pitched squeak. "I have absolutely nothing to say." Adrien said. "Can we please just search the house?"

Nino chuckled. "Sure, but you're spilling the beans when we're done here."

"He surprised me." Adrien said.

"But you kissed him back, dude."

"And," Alya said, "you're still hugging."

Ross grinned at Adrien and released him so they could take a step away from each other. "Sorry." He signed. "I couldn't help myself. I'm just so happy."

Adrien signed back, for once not speaking along with his hands. "It's okay. I didn't mind."

Juleka coughed again. "You do realize all of us know sign language, right?"

Adrien covered his face again. "Heck." He murmured under his breath.

Alya laughed. "Alright, dude, get your boyfriend and let's finish up here."

"We're not dating." Adrien whined.

"Course not." Nino said. "Just two dudes who kiss. No homo."

"I didn't say that. It's very homo. The homo-est. Just not dating."

"Hey, I ain't judging."

Ross laughed and tapped Adrien to get his attention. "Sure you don't mind? I'm sorry for surprising you."

"Of course not." Adrien said. He put a hand on Ross' shoulder. "I promise. We're cool. Kisses are fine."

Alya thinly disguised her statement with a cough. "Totally not dating."

Ross laughed. "We really aren't dating, though." He signed. Then, with a wink, he added, "Not yet, anyway."

"Hey." Nino said. "Where'd Marinette go?"

"She's doing what we're supposed to be doing." Juleka said.

"Oh, right. We should get on that."

Juleka and Nino took off to search the house with Marinette, and with a shake of her head Alya followed suit. "We shouldn't fall behind." Adrien said. "Come on."

Ross grinned and followed.

* * *

The case was closed. Talbot was in jail, his business was scrambling, but it looked like they'd survive under new leadership, the pokémon were all in recovery homes. Lucario alone refused to go. Instead, he just insisted on sticking with Ross.

There were some legal issues to deal with on his side as well. Because he was technically a pokémon, his rights were dubious. But, working with people who knew much more about the subject than Ross did, they ended up just keeping him, Ross, legally as Joshua Keaton. Ross could change his name later, they told him, if he wanted to, but for now it would allow him to be treated by law like a human and would allow the police to give him his pokémon back. Apparently, they took custody of them after Lailah was caught.

They couldn't let Lucario go with him, either, unless he was registered as Ross' pokémon, but one spare pokéball solved that problem in a heartbeat.

It was a long and complicated process in all, but Ross came out the other end with six pokéballs in his hands – including H-1's, who the police just didn't know how to handle. _Manectric, Meowstic, Gallade, Ditto. I missed you guys._ He called them out, and almost cried again when he saw them.

"Josh?" Gallade said. "Josh, you're back! I was so worried!" The others echoed the sentiment and as a group they tackled him to the ground trying to hug him all at once.

Ross could only laugh. "I missed you guys." He said.

Manectric tilted her head. "You don't talk like a human anymore."

"No." He said. "The fusion rewired some stuff, I think. I can understand you now."

"That's amazing!" Ditto exclaimed. "You can understand us! What am I saying? Taco. Green lettuce. Kale election."

"You're saying nonsense." Meowstic said. He smiled anyway. "I'm happy you're safe, Josh."

Ross chuckled and sat up, now that his pokémon had backed up enough for him to do so. "I'm happy y'all are safe. But you should know, Josh isn't around anymore. I'm a fusion. I'm Josh and Rocco. Neither individually were who I am now. Will you guys still accept me as your trainer, even though I'm not really Josh?"

Gallade ruffled his hair. "Of course, we will." He said. "I look forward to getting to know you as you are now."

Ross smiled. "And I'm going by Ross."

"I like it." Manectric said. "It suits you."

"Hah, thanks. I love you guys."

"I love you too!" Ditto sprang onto his head enthusiastically.

Meowstic laughed. "We all do."

"Oh." Ross said. "And you should meet our newest friend. Lucario?"

Lucario nervously waved to the group. Ditto jumped up and transformed into him. Ditto touched the chest spike on his own chest, a complete one, and examined the nub on Lucario. "What happened?" Ditto asked. "You're hurt. Are you alright? It's nice to meet you!"

Lucario chuckled. "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt. Talbot sanded it down so people could get up close without stabbing themselves." He touched the little dome gently. "And, uh, it's nice to meet you, too. All of you."

Gallade frowned. "The police have been updating us when they let us out to take care of us. You must have been with Ross when Talbot had him, right?" Lucario nodded. "Thank you for taking care of him."

Ross grinned as Lucario bashfully explained that really, he didn't do anything, but the other pokémon knew better. They were right there with Ross in making sure Lucario knew he was as loved and appreciated as he could be.


	17. Respite

Juleka felt guilty. Of course, she hadn't said anything she didn't mean, but she never expected Adrien to start that kind of relationship with Ross, especially not so soon. In hindsight, her chat with Marinette seemed a little cruel.

She was happy for Adrien, of course, and Ross as well. Just a glance told her that they fulfilled that one requirement she didn't very eloquently explain to Marinette. They made each other happy. She saw Ross grin when Adrien entered his field of view. She saw Adrien smile and hide his face when he thought Ross wasn't looking. She saw how Adrien melted so quickly into Ross' kiss – it wasn't even an extended thing, he got over the initial shock in a matter of milliseconds and returned the gesture earnestly.

She knew Adrien, though he was self-sacrificing and socially awkward to an extent, would not tell Ross that kisses were fine if they weren't. And she knew Adrien well enough to have seen the look in his eye that told her they were more than just fine. He loved it. He loves Ross. Their relationship was unconventional for sure, and Juleka resolved to keep an eye on it for both their sakes, but at least at the time being just being together made them happy and that was all Juleka really cared about.

But it was fast, unexpected, and rubbed salt in the wound she'd opened in Marinette. Juleka recognized it immediately. It was why she interrupted Adrien and Ross' little moment on the stairs. It was why Marinette took off quietly while the rest of them were still talking about what had happened. It was why Marinette still hasn't really talked to Adrien or Ross since then.

Juleka wanted to give Marinette some time to deal with it on her own, but now that Talbot was taken down and they had no more reason to stay in Shalour, they were quickly running out of time. It wouldn't affect their teamwork – Marinette was nothing if not professional when she had the responsibility placed upon her – but it would affect their friendship. Marinette and Adrien both were too important to each other for Juleka to allow the current state of affairs to continue – stretched on by the distraction of their mission.

Also, Juleka felt guilty.

The days after they rescued Lucario and the other pokémon from Talbot's basement were rushed and hectic. First, they dealt with Ross' legal situation, and got his pokémon and phone returned to him. Then things got more difficult and much more complicated.

"Marinette." Juleka said quietly. She was a little surprised Marinette actually heard her and turned to face her.

"Oh, what's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

Marinette hesitated. Juleka saw her freeze for just a moment, her eyes dart around the room. But they were alone. The others were out updating their blog or training or looking for rumors or gathering supplies. No one would interrupt them for at least a few minutes. It was, probably, the only chance Juleka would get. "About?" Marinette asked.

"Adrien."

"Oh." Marinette looked to the ground. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But you need to."

Marinette shook her head violently, like Mightyena throwing around Lurantis. "He's happy. That's all there is to it."

Juleka sighed and sat down next to her. "That's an important bit, but it's not all there is." She said.

"You said it yourself. Adrien and I wouldn't work." Marinette hugged herself tightly. "All I can do is be happy for him."

Juleka sat quietly for a moment, unable to find words that were appropriate for the situation. "I'm sorry." She eventually said.

"For what? All you did was warn me."

"No." She shook her head. "This came as a surprise to me, too. I'm content, so far, with how they're working, but even I didn't expect it. If it's worth anything, I had hoped I was wrong." She put a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "But those two…"

Marinette trembled slightly. She didn't cry, but Juleka felt the tremors in her fingertips. "I'm not angry." She said. "Barely even jealous." Juleka allowed her to lean unto her. She wrapped her arms protectively around Marinette. "I know I wasn't super forward about it, but… I can accept that I lost. It doesn't make it hurt less, but I can accept it." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "But really, you shouldn't apologize. You helped a lot. Honestly, when you first talked to me about it I wasn't entirely sure what you meant, but after seeing them, I get it. I don't make Adrien happy the way Ross does, just by being around. And, honestly, I don't think Adrien makes me happy that way either. If that's love, then I can wait for it. Even if it's not him, if there's someone who will look at me like that, make me feel like that, it's worth waiting for."

She smiled sadly. "It still hurts seeing them, but don't worry. I won't let it slow us down. Honestly, I've harbored this crush too long, anyway. I knew it'd never happen, and now I know for sure, if there's someone who makes him feel like how Ross makes him feel, I'd rather he date that person. That's where he's truly happy. If it were us… well, you were right. We'd only bring each other down."

"I didn't mean it that cynically. You know, I kind of meant that it wasn't a good idea until after everything calms down, when we can go back to being teenagers."

Marinette chuckled. "Can we even just be seventeen anymore? Do we still have the right?"

"It doesn't matter. We never let that stop us before."

"Pfft. Fair point." She sighed. "We missed the tournament."

Juleka chuckled. "I'd totally forgotten about it. It was months ago now."

"Yeah. We've been gone a long time. You think everyone else is still doing alright?"

"As far as we know. They haven't reported anything out of the ordinary."

"Of course not. Should we update them on Adrien and Ross?"

"Nah." Juleka shook her head. "Let those two take it at their own pace. They aren't even technically dating."

"Right."

"Just two dudes who kiss sometimes because they're both gay and love each other."

Marinette giggled. "They're basically dating, though."

"Yeah, but I think it's smart of them not to take that step yet. Until we stop Gabriel, Adrien has much bigger things to worry about. And it's not like Ross is in a super stable place, either. They just… realized that being together made them happy so that's what they're doing. For the time being."

"I really am happy for them." Marinette said. "But if that dynamic they have doesn't change, they'll be dating when this is over."

"I agree. Does that hurt?"

"Not as much as it should." She picked at the fabric of her pants idly. "You know, right now, I'm actually sad that when we get back to Lumiose, when we go back to school, we won't see much of Ross, will we?"

Juleka hummed. "I don't know. Josh didn't go to our school, so probably."

"Where did he go to school? Will Ross go there, too? Do you think he'll be teased because of the ears and tail?"

"He was homeschooled, like Adrien was." She worried her lip. "So, I don't think we need to worry too much about that. Still, it's not going to be easy for him. Right now, it's mostly just us. Not many strangers have even seen him. Especially after everything dies down and he's not so prominent in the news, he's going to get a lot of strange looks."

"Not on my watch." Marinette pursed her lips. "I'm not going to let anyone mess with him. When we get back to Lumiose, I'm going to make sure he knows he can hide out at my place any time he needs."

Juleka smiled. "Even though he's your competition?"

"But he's not. Well, yes, even if he was, but he isn't. There's not a competition, it's just Adrien's happiness, and Ross' too. I wouldn't break them up if I could, even if I knew I'd be with Adrien after. Adrien's happier than I've seen him in a long time. And Ross… well I've never seen him this happy. That's including Josh and Rocco, too. He's my friend, too, and I want him to be happy as much as I want Adrien to be."

"That's really mature of you."

"Not really. I'm happiest when my friends are happy. Even if it means I have to accept it won't work out with my crush, I can't be bitter about something that puts that kind of smile on their faces."

Juleka couldn't resist grinning. _She's going to be fine. Sooner or later, at least._ "Speaking of smiling faces, Ross' dad should be getting in today, right?"

"That's right! I forgot." Marinette sighed. "I feel like there's still so much to do before we go back to Geosenge Town."

"Because there is." Juleka said. "We have some decisions to make, too."

Marinette pulled away, rising to her feet and looking towards the door. "Yeah. But a lot of them hang on Ross more than anyone."

"True."

"Let's go find the others. We're going to need to get everything sorted out soon, so we can finish this with Gabriel." Juleka stood, but Marinette didn't move. "And, uh… Thanks, Juleka."

Juleka smiled. "Any time."

* * *

"Thank you for coming, kids." Karen said, looking at each of them in turn. Juleka looked over to Adrien, then Ross, then back to Karen. "There's a few things we need to wrap up before you set out again."

"We know." Alya said. "You're going to ask us not to spill about the Hideaway."

Lucas and Karen exchanged a look. "That's part of it, yes." Lucas said. "We also, as adults, are not comfortable sending a group of teenagers after a man who has control over something called the ultimate weapon."

"It's not that we don't trust your ability." Karen added quickly, before any of them could respond. "Just that, we know you haven't had the greatest relationships with a lot of the adults in your life."

Alya crossed her arms. "You don't have to pretend to be our parents." She looked back at the rest of them. "We're not that desperate for parental figures."

Lucas blushed a little, but Karen just pressed on. "Regardless, let us help. You may not need us, but… it's important to us to be there. We've been working together this long, let us see it through to the end with you."

Alya frowned. "Why?" Juleka was a little taken aback by her curt response.

"Uh, Alya." Nino said, similarly caught off guard. "What's that for?"

Karen and Lucas looked a little hurt, but Alya stood strong. "You're right, you know." She said to them. "We don't have great relationships with many adults. Our families are good, save the obvious exceptions, but any adult we met on this journey, any adult involved in this mess, has screwed us over or been criminally negligent. Why should we think you care about anything more than the Hideaway? That's the only reason we teamed up in the first place. Should we let you stick around so you can watch us? Make sure we don't spill the beans?"

Karen and Lucas definitely looked hurt by that. Juleka had to cringe a little. While Alya wasn't entirely inaccurate, it was pretty harsh. "Alya." Adrien said. "They wouldn't do that."

Ross tapped Adrien and signed to him. "Actually, I'm with her."

"What?" Adrien exclaimed. "They've been nothing but good to us!"

Ross shrugged. "I wasn't here." He signed. "But I trust you. If that's what you think."

Marinette sighed and tapped her foot. "I do trust you." She said to Karen and Lucas. "But I'm not sure about it. This might be something we've got to do for ourselves."

"It's _my_ dad." Adrien said. "Like, I get that you guys are invested in this, too, but you can't say things like we have to do it on our own."

Nino nodded. "I'm with Adrien. If they want to help us, we should welcome it."

Alya shook her head. "You say that, but we still haven't decided on what to do about the Hideaway in the first place."

"We haven't?"

"No." She said, casting a pointed look to Karen and Lucas. "You know I'm the first one to support something like that, but as it is I can't leave it alone. Can you?"

"Yeah." Nino said, looking puzzled. "They're doing everything they can. The parts that were corrupt were just a tiny thing."

"It wasn't, though." Alya glared at Karen. "First, they had Lailah Keaton as an employee. That's a red flag on its own, but sure, let's grant them leniency on that. Next, we find out that the ones supplying Lailah are also Hideaway guests. We can only imagine how many other guests were buying, and how many others are selling."

"We've been through that." Nino said. "It was an isolated pocket."

"Right. The gold floor. Not exactly a pocket – at the very least that entire floor is suspect. But okay, let's grant them that. Now, where did we find Ross?"

Adrien sighed and shook his head. "The platinum floor."

"The platinum floor." She repeated. She turned straight to Lucas and Karen. "Talbot, the man who bought, imprisoned, raped, and whored out our friend, who also, by the way, was a guest of the Hideaway, pawned Ross off to not one, but three more Hideaway guests. Not only proving more of the guests are involved in that kind of shit, but also proving that that shit takes places within Hideaway walls. How many strikes is that, now? How much are we supposed to forgive?"

Juleka had to admit, Alya had a point. One by one, she didn't think much of it. The Hideaway had a system in place to deal with those things, after all, so finding one and seeing it expunged wasn't altogether too concerning. But while they've been in Shalour, the incidents just kept stacking up. Lucas looked to Nino. "But…" He began to say.

Nino shook his head. "Look, dude." He sighed. "I want to believe, but Alya has a point. I'm not set on ratting you guys out, but unless something's changed… thinking about it, I can't really argue against her."

Karen put a hand on Lucas' shoulder to silence him. He seemed a little distressed, which made sense to Juleka. _I feel bad about it, but Nino's right. We can't argue Alya's point. I don't want to tell on them, but things just kept compounding._ "That's what all of you think?" Karen asked.

They all exchanged looks with each other. Juleka could tell that none of them were enthusiastic about it, but Alya was right. _If we haven't reached the line by now, then where even is it? We have to take a stand somewhere. We can't excuse that kind of thing because we don't agree with the law regarding pokephilia._ Marinette was the one who answered. "Yeah." Her voice was flat, unenthusiastic. "I think we agree."

Karen took a deep, unsteady breath. "Okay."

Alya raised her brow. "Okay?"

"Yeah." Karen said. Lucas gaped at her. "Okay. We understand. You'll do what you need to."

"I wasn't expecting that."

Karen smiled. "You know I love the Hideaway. We both do." She touched Lucas' shoulder. "But you're right. There's clearly a flaw. A fatal flaw. And you're right. Things can't persist how they are."

Lucas frowned. "Karen? What're you saying?"

"But," She said, still focusing on Alya. "Telling on us is only one option."

Alya scoffed. "And, here it is."

"We could rehaul the system." Karen said.

Alya hummed skeptically. "How? You don't have that kind of power. None of us do."

"We petition the director. We explain everything we've found so far in Shalour. Everything that was unacceptable. We explain why there needs to be a change, then we work together to figure out what change is necessary."

"And if the director doesn't go for it?"

"Then there's no other option, is there? I'm not going to ask you to go against what you believe in. But I know you believe in the Hideaway, at least a little. Can you find it in yourselves to give it one more chance?"

Alya tapped her foot. "Opinions?" She turned to look at them all.

"I think it's worth a shot." Nino said. "If things don't go well we can still tell the police later."

Marinette shrugged. "I'd like to think it can work, but I'm not super optimistic. This might be an issue that we can only really address in the political sphere, not underground."

Adrien sighed. "There's no reason we can't try one more time. But I do think Marinette is right. Ultimately, something like this will work best if it's legal and regulated. Until then, you'll be attracting the worst along with the good. You need to be careful. Still, I'd vote to give it a shot."

Ross seemed a little surprised that everyone was looking to him for his opinion, but eventually he signed, "Saying pokémon can't consent is stupid. I should know, I am one." He smiled. "But the Hideaway isn't the solution. If you tried again, after it was legal, I'd support you, but not now."

Eyes turned to Juleka, after Adrien had translated for Ross. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I think what's more important than whether the Hideaway should exist or not is what it should exist for. It's a perfect place to organize a movement, to make it legal. And then the whole brothel thing can be on the up and up. But until then, no matter the system you're going to attract the worst people in the community. That's not to say that stuff can't go on in there, but like Ross said, it's not the solution. A place to hide isn't going to change anything, no matter what it looks like. It's still hiding."

Alya sighed. "I couldn't have put it better. Looks like we're still undecided, then."

"Hey, I have an idea." Lucas said. Everyone gave him their attention. "If you don't want to, that's obviously fine, but you all are on our side, as far as the legal battle is concerned, right?"

"Yeah." Alya said. "Seems like it."

"So why don't you help the movement? Make it legal. Change people's opinions. Especially you, Ross, you could change everything. You breach that gap between humans and pokémon. If you wanted to help, you could be the face of the movement."

Karen tutted. "Lucas, we can't ask that of them. They've already been through way more than they deserve. I'm sure they don't want to jump right back into the spotlight when they finally finish their mission."

"Why don't you ask them?" Lucas said. "If there's one thing I've learned about these kids in all this time it's that they're resilient."

Karen looked to them, Alya turned to the rest of them once more. They all exchanged uncertain looks. _Things are too unstable right now to commit to something like that._ Alya nodded and turned back. "We can't decide that right now." She said. "Personally, I'd like to help where I can, but that's going to be something each of us decides individually."

"Of course." Karen said. "But in the meantime, do you know what you're going to do?"

"I think so." Alya said. "For now, we won't say anything, so long as we see evidence of progress."

"And about us helping you with Gabriel?"

Alya sighed again. "Any objections?" She asked. No one said anything. "Then, I guess, welcome aboard."

Karen and Lucas both sighed in relief. "Thank you." Karen said. "I'm glad we get to help out some more."

"Thanks for helping." Nino said. "Arceus knows we can use any assets we can get."

Alya chuckled. "That's true enough."

Karen cleared her throat. "And, there is one more thing. For Ross, specifically." Ross blinked, wide-eyed and curious. "Lailah is in prison at the moment. At the Shalour Penitentiary." _Oh._ "She's still unstable, mentally. They said she wasn't responding too well to treatment. They're still trying to find something to help her. But you can visit her, if you want, before we leave. In the presence of one of their guards."

Ross bit his lip, then gestured to the rest of them.

"Only a few can go with you. Two, max, but everyone will be just outside."

Ross furrowed his brow and tapped his chin. _I guess it's not an easy decision._

"You don't have to decide now." Karen said. "You dad is almost here, anyway. We should go meet him at the train station. But probably tomorrow, if you want to leave as soon as possible."

"Has he seen her?" Ross signed.

"Yeah." Karen answered once Adrien had translated. "He came by a few times while we were looking for you."

Ross grabbed Adrien's hand, and fixed his gaze on Juleka. He pointed to her. "Me?" She asked. "Are you sure? You wouldn't rather bring your dad?"

Ross shook his head. "You loved Rocco. You should see her, too."

"What about Nino?"

Nino slapped her back gently. "It's fine, girl. You were much more involved with Rocco than I was. I can always go later, anyway, once we get Gabriel."

"O-oh." She hugged herself. "Okay. Sure. I'd love to come."

"First thing's first, though." Alya said, patting her shoulder with one hand and Ross' with the other. "We need to see Ross' dad. Er, well, do you still think of him that way? Since you're not really Josh?"

Ross shrugged. "It's complicated." He signed. "He was good to me."

Alya smiled. "Good, then. Let's head over to find your dad."

* * *

Juleka was pretty sure that the stares and whispers following them when they entered the train station bothered her more than they did Ross. She envied his unabashed approach through the station. She would never summon the courage to walk with such swagger, and she didn't even have any physical mutations like he did that drew attention to him. Yet, hand in hand with Adrien, he smirked and strode to where Mr. Keaton was waiting for them.

Mr. Keaton was overcome, he seemed unable to move for a few seconds when he caught sight of Ross, and they had approached him before he finally said anything. "My boy." He said. His voice was so fragile, it felt inappropriate for such a public place. "My boy." He repeated, a little breathier, as he reached out to cup Ross' face in his hands. Ross and Adrien exchanged a look. Adrien seemed unsure, but Ross mostly just seemed a little hesitant. "I'm so glad you're safe. Karen told me everything that happened. I'm… I'm so sorry. I should have looked over you better. I should have stopped Lailah before it ever got this far. I should have…"

Ross took Mr. Keaton's hands in his, held them in front of him for a moment, then let go to sign. "It's not your fault."

Mr. Keaton was either too blinded by the tears he was trying to hold back or too ignorant of sign language to read Ross' words, but Adrien was more than happy to be Ross' voice.

"To be fair," Adrien said, reading Ross' hands, "even Lailah wasn't entirely responsible for most of it."

Mr. Keaton shook his head. "Even so. I'm so sorry. I've let you down."

"No, you haven't. I've had two lives and you're still the best dad I could have asked for."

Mr. Keaton's eyes shone bright. He looked into Ross' eyes. "You still consider me your dad? I was worried, when I heard Josh was… dead. You're not him, entirely, am I understanding that right?"

Ross smiled and nodded. "Am I still your son, even if I'm not Josh?"

Mr. Keaton took Ross' shoulders. "No matter what name you have, no matter who you become, you'll always be my boy. I can promise that."

"Thank you." Ross grinned and ducked his head. "It does mean a lot."

Mr. Keaton awkwardly signed along with his words. Juleka recognized the clumsy and inexperienced movements as someone just trying to learn. _He must have looked up how to say it before he came here. Probably when Karen told him about Ross being nonverbal._ "I love you." Mr. Keaton said.

Ross watched the hand movement carefully, taken off guard a little, but then he laughed, grabbed his dad's hand to fix its shape, and then returned the gesture. Then, Ross stepped forward and hugged him.

Once Ross had backed off, Mr. Keaton seemed to really notice the rest of them. "Thank you all," He said, "for looking out for my son. Thank you for finding him." He turned to Alya. "And you, especially. I was watching everything you were doing. You're responsible for this. Because of you I have my son back." He took Alya's hands. "Thank you."

"I only did what I had to to protect my friend. It was nothing special." Alya said.

"Mr. Keaton." Karen said, getting his attention. "I'm sure you must be wondering about Ross' health."

"Of course. What can you share with me?"

"Ross?" Ross waved her off, telling her to go into it. Since he was technically an adult, his health care was his business. Especially as a police officer, Karen had to make sure she had permission before sharing anything. "Right, well it seems like he's perfectly healthy, though some minor changes are still occurring. The doctors aren't too worried except that they're not sure when or if his voice will come back."

Ross growled a little in his throat. He signed, with a roll of his eyes, "I can talk, just not human vocals."

Adrien smiled, but didn't bother translating. He just put a hand on Ross' head and ruffled his hair. Karen shook her head. "Apparently something in his throat changed. A bone or something that's important in making the sounds we do."

"Hyoid bone." Ross signed. Adrien chuckled as he translated the interjection.

"Yes," Karen laughed. "That. It more closely resembles one of a zoroark. Not to mention how his vocal chords and the rest of that machinery has changed."

Mr. Keaton nodded solemnly. "So, he probably won't talk again."

"Still can talk." Ross signed. Once again, Adrien elected not to translate. Juleka smiled at the look they gave each other, pouting meeting teasing.

"Not like a human, no. There's a chance, of course, but the doctors weren't optimistic. The good thing is he can still communicate fluently with us using sign language, and as you know he can talk verbally with pokémon."

"Which is kind of cool." Adrien said. "But that's just my opinion."

Mr. Keaton smiled at the two of them. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"We don't think it'll be a problem, but we were warned to keep an eye on his diet. Hopefully we'll have a better idea soon, but the doctors told us to be careful of anything that a zoroark can't eat. Nothing should be too dangerous in low amounts, but chocolate and caffeine are the big ones. We were told, though, so long as he's not downing coffee like a college student at finals or eating chocolate like it's Valentine's Day, we should be safe. Again, moderation, and I'll keep a close eye on it until these guys get back to Lumiose. By then, we should know better where the limits are, and Ross can tell you himself."

Mr. Keaton blinked in surprise. "Wait, you're saying he's not coming home?"

Ross furrowed his brow. "Of course not." He signed. "We're not finished."

Karen sighed. "I understand that you want him with you, but Ross has made it clear that he's sticking with his friends until their journey is over."

"But…"

Lucas stepped up. "I swear to you, we'll be looking after them as if they were our own kids."

Mr. Keaton frowned. "I don't like it."

"I wouldn't expect you to."

"But you're right. Ross, please just be careful. You've already been through so much. If I were to lose you… I…"

Ross patted his shoulder. Karen sighed again. "You understand what the purpose of their journey was in the first place."

"Of course."

"Then you know they can't give up until they see it through. But we're going to be with them every step of the way." Karen took Lucas' hand, making him blush awkwardly. "And we won't let anything happen to them."

Mr. Keaton nodded. "Okay. When are you leaving? Where are you going from here?"

Karen looked to the group, so Marinette answered. "We're going from here to Geosenge Town. Right now, the plan is to leave tomorrow after Ross visits Lailah."

"You're going to see her?"

Ross nodded. He shrugged as well, for good measure. "Felt like I should." He signed. "And I'm not the only one who needs to see her."

Mr. Keaton looked to Adrien. "Of course. The zoroark was yours, wasn't he?"

Adrien nodded. "Honestly, I'm not sure what we'll get from seeing her, but this may be our only chance. It… seemed appropriate."

"You kids shouldn't expect much. Ross, Lailah isn't herself."

"You mean she's insane." Ross signed. "Yeah, we got that."

Mr. Keaton sighed. "I won't try to stop you from seeing her, but… don't expect too much from her, okay?"

Adrien put a protective arm over Ross' shoulders. "We understand the situation." He said. "But we can't leave things how they are. Ross hasn't even seen her since she fused him." Ross nodded in agreement.

Mr. Keaton sighed. "Then I wish you the best."

* * *

Mr. Keaton reluctantly agreed to allow Ross to continue with them, not that his approval mattered much in the grand scheme of things. Juleka was getting the impression that Ross wasn't one to care too much about whether he had permission to do anything, unless perhaps it was Adrien or maybe Lucario's permission. It was almost scary how different he was from Joshua. Joshua was a sensitive soul, he tried his best to do what was best for everyone. He was the kind of person who truly lived by the idea of "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything". Ross, not so much. Ross was much more direct. He told you how it was. He interjected with his opinion, despite it being much more of an effort to express since he couldn't interrupt verbally.

It was one of those few things about him that Juleka thought of as entirely Ross, not Joshua or Rocco or a mix.

But regardless, they left Adrien and Ross with Mr. Keaton, to spend the rest of the day together, and went to prepare for the upcoming journey. In the morning, they went to the penitentiary, to await their meeting with Lailah, and then when that was over they planned to leave almost immediately.

Maybe that was why Juleka was so on-edge. Once again, she marveled at Ross' ability to stay entirely calm – or perhaps calm wasn't the right word. To stay normal, despite their situation.

"Follow me, please." A lady called them forward and led them to a table. On the other side of the table, Lailah Keaton sat lazily.

She brightened up when she saw Ross. "My Joshua!" She exclaimed. "You're perfect! Oh, you've no idea how happy I am! The procedure went even better than I expected. Your anatomy seems to have adjusted perfectly. Let me jus-" The officer standing guard blocked Lailah from reaching out and grabbing Ross.

Ross growled, deep in his throat, a long, sustained note. Juleka wasn't sure he was even aware of it.

"Tell me, Joshie." Lailah said, unperturbed by the obstruction. "How does it feel? The zoroark's memories should have been integrated so you shouldn't be feeling out of sorts by your new anatomy, except of course the novel bits. Did you know that zoroark have different vertebrae than humans? Amazing, I know! In fact, it actually makes perfect sense that a fusion would trigger the growth of a tail – that's where most of that energy you were using went to, you know. Most other changes were small. Development of a tapetum lucidium, some minor alterations to the digestive system, production of proteins in your hair and nails to make that red color – naturally those kind of changes take a toll, but you would have been up and about much quicker if not for the tail and the ears. Your external ears changed so much! Even I didn't expect that level of change. But the basic structure inside should be relati-"

"Oh for Arceus' sake, shut up!" Juleka exclaimed. She bit her lip after the outburst. She took a deep breath. _Calm down. Don't lose it like you did last time._

Lailah looked at her with disdain. "And who are you, exactly? Why did dear Joshie bring you? Adrien, I understand, but you?"

Juleka clenched her fists. "I'm Juleka Couffaine. It was one of my best friends you murdered for your experiment."

"Ah. Oh, well. We must make sacrifices for science!"

Ross tapped her shoulder. "Don't." He signed. "She's not worth it."

Juleka sighed. As angry as she was, Ross was right. She was beaten. Juleka would only be punching down if she lashed out now. "You're right." She said. "Sorry."

"Oh no, Joshie." Lailah said. "Your voice."

Ross glared at her. "Gone." He signed deliberately. "And so is Josh. You killed him, along with Rocco."

"Sorry dearie, but I don't understand you. My, that is a problem. I had no idea the procedure would cause you to lose your voice. That is a problem indeed…"

Adrien shook his head. "Do I want to ask?"

"Well, Joshie is the bridge between pokémon and humans! A new understanding between us! If we can't understand him… that is problematic."

"You're the only one here who can't understand him." Juleka spat. _Ironic, but fitting._

"My name is Ross." Ross signed, slowly and deliberately as if he were talking to a child. Juleka resisted the urge to laugh.

"Girl," Lailah said, "make yourself useful and translate."

Juleka crossed her arms, but, looking at Ross, said, "His name is Ross. He said you killed Josh."

"That's ridiculous. My Joshie is right here!"

"No." Adrien said. "This is Ross. He's not the same person as Josh or Rocco. If you cared about him you'd be able to see that."

"Excuse you, child. I care more about my son than you ever could."

Adrien smirked and shared a look with Ross. "Sure about that?" He said blithely.

"If you cared about your son," Juleka said, "you would notice that he and Ross are different people."

"I'm not an idiot." Lailah said. "I know my son when I see him."

Ross sighed and signed, "Apparently not when you hear him, though." Juleka smirked when she translated for him. "You should be able to understand better than anyone. I'm a fusion. Neither Josh nor Rocco alone were who I am now. And I'm neither of them individually. Josh, as a person, is dead."

Lailah seemed to think it through. "Hmm, it does make sense. But… no. No. It's a gross exaggeration to say that he's dead. He may be just a part of you, but he's in there nonetheless."

"No, he's not." Ross signed. "He and Rocco formed the basis of who I am, but both of them are gone forever. They're not inside me. They're not still here. They're dead, and I just happen to be here instead."

"That… can't be true." Lailah fell into her chair. "It can't be. Josh was supposed to be in control. He was supposed to learn from the zoroark's mind, not lose himself within it."

"You're still wrong." Ross shook his head. "Neither won. There wasn't even anything to win. There's only one person here, not two, not a mix, one, full, complete person."

"No."

"You were right that Josh's body became the template for me, but my personality is my own. Elements of my templates carried over, but I'm me, not either of them."

"No."

"Josh is dead. You killed him when you pulled the switch."

"No, I didn't. I made him better. I made him- I made you beautiful! I made you amazing!"

"You sacrificed two people to create one."

"No. That's Gabriel's schtick. He's the one that wants to bring someone to life. I just made you better. I made you the singular greatest scientific discovery of our time! The living translator! Not only words, but context! Culture!"

"Was killing your son worth it to create the living translator that needs a translator himself for you to understand him?"

Lailah flinched – Juleka may have added a bit of a bite to the words, but Ross seemed to approve, so she didn't feel too bad. "I did not kill him."

"You did. I'm the one who knows, remember? Isn't that what you made me to do? To know?"

Juleka saw, in that moment, something she never expected from Lailah. Tears. Full-on sobbing. She buried her face in her hands and bawled her eyes out. Juleka was still pissed, but such a pathetic sight in front of her didn't deserve rage. Just pity. Still, taking the cue from Ross, she looked on impassively. It was his moment much more than hers.

"You're pathetic." Ross signed. Juleka didn't translate. As much as she agreed with the sentiment, saying it in that moment felt cruel. "Now, of all times, you pretend like you cared about him." Adrien put a hand on his shoulder. "Fuck you. Go rot."

"Ross." Adrien said quietly.

"I know she can't understand me." He signed. "Feels good to say it anyway. Do you have anything to say?"

Adrien worried his lip. "Yeah. I do." He shook his head. "Lailah." She looked up at him. "You killed two people I cared a lot about. I… I can't forgive that. But… well, I hope this place helps you. One day, I hope you can be a real mom again. You were good at it, back then. I know my mom would think the same thing."

"Adrien…" Lailah burbled. "Josh… you know I didn't do anything wrong, right?"

Adrien just shook his head. Ross sighed. Juleka hugged herself tightly. "You're sick, Lailah." She said. "But that doesn't mean you didn't do anything wrong. You did horrible things. Once you get better… _if_ you get better, then you can worry about what we think."

Ross shook his head. "Why are we even here?" He signed. "This is pointless."

"She's still your mom." Adrien said.

"No, she's not. She stopped being Josh's mom a long time ago, much less mine. Let's just go."

"Wait!" Lailah tried once more to reach for Ross, but the officer was vigilant. "No, please, don't go. My son… don't be this cruel to your mother."

"Fuck you." Ross signed. Juleka didn't translate, but she didn't honestly feel it was necessary. Everything about Ross' body language screamed it. "You don't deserve the son you had. And I don't deserve you. Come on, guys. If you're done here, too, let's get out of here."

Adrien hesitated, reaching out after Ross as he walked towards the door. "I…" Adrien looked back to Lailah, then followed Ross. "Alright. Jules?"

"Right behind you."

Juleka cast one last glance back at Lailah. She shook her head sadly. It was one thing to witness her brand of crazy when they were fighting. It was scary, but too threatening to pity. Here, in that room, there was nothing for her. All there was was a broken woman and three wronged kids who didn't have the words or willpower to find the peace they wanted in their hearts. Juleka had never felt that kind of hate before, and it was odd to have it directed at someone so mewling and helpless but nothing about where they were changed what had been. Nothing could have justified Lailah's actions. _Ross was right. Why are we even here?_ She shook her head. _We hoped, I guess. For something. But she's not going to give us that._

With a sigh, she turned to the door, to Adrien and Ross. _Now we just need to stop one more insane parent. Then… maybe we have a chance to just live again._


	18. Allegro

"Hey, bro. Can I talk to you?" Nino worried his lip awkwardly, finally catching Adrien without Ross around.

Adrien looked up at him. The smile that met Nino was so bright he thought it was probably smart to look away. _How does he do it? Ross or not, friends or not, it's still Gabriel we're after at the end of the day._ "Of course, dude! What's up?"

Nino shook the thoughts away. _Not important right now. Got bigger fish to fry._ "You guys haven't really talked about what's going on, yet." He said, watching Adrien carefully.

"What do you mean? Karen and Lucas said we could get going in like, a few minutes."

"That's not what I meant. I meant… everything, dude." Nino sighed. "Ross, Lailah, Gabriel… Talbot, even. Things are happening so quickly, I can barely keep track anymore."

Adrien pursed his lips and stopped reorganizing his bag. "Well, I'm always happy to talk with you. Was there anything in particular?"

"Start with Ross. While I've got you alone."

Adrien furrowed his brow. "What about him?"

Nino hated thinking it. He hated himself for asking it. He hated the look of shock and disbelief that Adrien gave him when he asked. But he couldn't ignore it. For any of their sakes. "What do you think you're doing? That thing you have going on with him."

"I… what? What do you mean?"

"I'm not trying to sound so confrontational about it, but, dude, you heard me. Why would you get into something like that? With Ross, of all people?"

"What's wrong with Ross?" Adrien hugged himself tightly. Nino clenched his jaw as he watched Adrien's eyes drift away from him.

"You told me yourself that getting into a relationship like that is a bad idea. And Ross? We hardly know him. I like the dude, yeah, but he isn't Rocco, and he isn't Josh. That much is clear. You really want to get into something like that with someone you barely know? That's all I meant about Ross, specifically. I'm not trying to imply he's not a good guy. Just that he is new."

"Oh…"

"And dude, we're like, just about to catch up to your dad. Is this really the time? Are you ready for something like that?"

Adrien sighed. "No. That's why we agreed we're not dating right now."

"I know, and I respect that. That was smart and mature of you. But it doesn't change what's happening. Look, I'm not exactly an expert on romance but I can see that you two are more than just friends who kiss sometimes."

"I didn't say we weren't. But what do you want me to do?" Adrien's voice was quiet and sad and hurt and Nino felt like his heart was going to be ripped from his chest. _Damn it._ "I know it was fast and all that, but… it just felt okay."

"It felt okay? That's your reasoning?"

"It felt good. Right. I don't know."

"Adrien." Nino sighed. He closed his eyes. He sat down, unable to stand for his own accusation. "I'm not telling you to stop. I don't… I want you to be happy. Same for Ross, but Adrien… you've just lost Rocco. You just lost Josh. I just think that getting into this with… Just be careful. I don't want you two to get hurt."

"I know you don't." Adrien said. Nino felt Adrien's hand on his shoulder and looked up to meet his friend's gaze. They melted into each other's arms in a tight embrace. "I love you, man. And I appreciate you looking out for me."

Nino pulled back to look Adrien in the eyes. "But?" He prodded.

"Well, I can't exactly say it has nothing to do with Josh and Rocco, can I? But it's not mourning. It… helps, certainly, but it's not because of it. I think I can say that for sure."

"From your position would probably be the most difficult to tell."

Adrien smiled gently. "Then it's a good thing I have you here, isn't it? Do you think it's bad?"

"Not yet. But I'm obviously worried."

"I'm sorry. You have enough to worry about."

"Don't be ridiculous, dude. You're my best bro. Worrying about you is my job."

Adrien snickered. "Wow, now I'm really sorry."

Nino chuckled and shoved him gently. "But seriously, dude. Are you sure about what you're doing?"

"As far as Ross is concerned? Absolutely."

"Alright, then. Just remember I'm here if that ever changes."

Adrien grinned. "You're the best, you know that?"

"Yeah." Nino smirked. "Speaking of Ross, though, how's he handling the Lailah situation?"

The smile fell from Adrien's face. "I'm not entirely sure." He said. "I guess I have no choice but to trust him when he says he's fine, but…"

Nino raised his brow. "But?"

"Well, she's still his mom, isn't she? Even if he doesn't have the same connection Josh did, he remembers having it. He remembers her being his mom. So, I don't understand how." He chuckled a little. "But then, I don't understand exactly how connected he is to Josh's life, so maybe it really is nothing."

"But what do you think? Just say a guess." Nino said. "Don't worry about being wrong. Based on what you do know about him, on how he acted, how do you think he's doing?"

Adrien bit his lip. "He's hurt. A lot." He shook his head. "He was so angry. Justified, obviously, but still so angry. And Lailah didn't do much to help, really."

Nino waited a moment until it was clear Adrien wasn't going to continue. "What happened?" He asked.

"Lailah… well, unintentionally, I think, she sort of played the victim. She told Ross that he can't talk to her the way he was because she's his mother – he was less than respectful, let's say. She started crying after we got it deep enough in her head that Josh is gone. It was… really pitiful, but it's so hard to feel bad for her, and I kind of feel bad that I don't feel bad for her, but Ross… well, he just doesn't." Adrien sighed. "I can't speak for him, but I came out of there feeling like we didn't really resolve anything."

"Are you going to try and fix that?"

Adrien shook his head. "I'm in no place to say anything. Honestly, I'm not sure Lailah is sane enough for us to get any real closure from her. It'd have to come from us, and while I'm still after Dad… I can't talk about getting closure with a psychopath parent while I still haven't gotten it with mine. Besides, we're on a time crunch. We can come back later. In the meantime, we'll do okay."

"Speaking of your dad…"

"Don't worry, bud. I can handle it. I understand his motivations now. I still hope I can reach him, but… either way, he belongs in prison right along with Lailah. I won't deny that."

"It's one thing to say that, but to actually fight him…"

"Dad is myopic. He's so blinded by his need to have Mom back that he can't remember how to function. Honestly, he's no less crazy than Lailah – just slightly less homicidal. And he's no more my dad than Lailah was Josh's mom." Adrien shook his head. "He's obsessed, at the detriment of the rest of his life. If facing him in battle brings him a step closer to recovery, then I have no reservations doing it. It's for his own good as much as mine or anyone else's."

"Alrighty boys!" Nino jumped when Alya came, shouting, into the room. "We're leaving. You ready to finish this?"

Nino looked to Adrien. "Yeah." Adrien said. "Let's go."

Alya was already out the door, but Nino caught Adrien's arm. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Never surer in my life. It's not going to be easy, obviously, but I can do it."

"Okay."

Nino followed them out to the street where they found Lucas and his all-too-familiar truck. _I'm glad those two are tagging along._ The thought with a smile as he clambered in alongside his friends. This was, really, the first time they were all together. For the first part of their journey, Adrien was missing, and for the second part it was Ross, but now… _Now we're finally in one place. I know we're heading out to finally take on Gabriel but… I'm just happy._ He looked through the back window at Lucas. _And somehow, those two are part of this now. I think if it was just us, it wouldn't feel like this._

 _I can't wait until we're home again, and we really are all together again. We've been split up too long._ He met eyes with Alya. _You feel it too, don't you?_ He could tell, in her eyes, the relief, the joy.

It wasn't that they were safe. They obviously weren't. Their plan was basically just bare-boned, too. They weren't prepared, hardly knew what they were getting into, and were heading to face down both the greatest villain in their lives and also the father of one of their best friends.

But none of that was the point. It never was. It hadn't been from the moment Marinette put on the mask and fought Aggron to protect herself and them at that first attack. Everything that had happened – the rest of the attacks, the showcase, the fusions, discovering the Hideaway and Lailah Keaton and Zachariah Talbot and all of the terrible things they'd fallen into – it didn't matter. Not anymore. Not now that they got what they really wanted.

Just to be together again.

Marinette and Adrien fought to keep everyone together. They fought to protect their friends, their families, their city. And Nino fought alongside them because he wanted to stand with them. He fought with them because that was the only way he could stand alongside them after they became such heroes. For the sake of never leaving his friends, he rose to the occasion.

Even Josh came because he wanted to help Adrien. Because he felt Adrien's absence viscerally and couldn't take not knowing if he was okay. But he was. And now they were together. And because they were together, they could finally breathe.

A phone's chime brought their attention to Marinette, and another earned an expletive from the front seat. Another, and it was Alya cursing.

One more, and Nino understood what was happening.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked. He had to watch the road, so he couldn't look at the notifications the rest of them had received.

 _"Breaking: Mega Evolved Pokémon Appear Throughout Kalos"_

"Gabriel made his move." Karen growled. "We need to hurry."

"Why now?" Marinette asked. "It's been months without a word! Why do something like this?"

"These are the old machines." Adrien said, eyes on his own phone. "The ones that don't give them control. These pokémon are hurting, they're going to hurt a lot of people."

"He ran out of time." Alya said. "He's been following us, we know that. So long as we were after Talbot, it was fine. But he needs all the extra energy he hasn't gathered yet because he needs to put his plan into motion before we can stop him. And he can't create these machines without Lailah, so he must have had to resort to whatever stockpile he had – including the old models."

"But in so many places!" Juleka gasped. "Laverre, Snowbell, Cyllage, Shalour, they're in almost every major city! How could he get so many devices out and how could he activate them all at once?"

"Well…" Alya grit her teeth. "He did have time on his side, up 'til now."

"We need to help stop it!" Marinette said. "There's a couple in Shalour. If we turn around now we ca-"

"No. Mari, that's what he wants. He need to take out the source, not cover the symptoms."

"But even if we stop Gabriel, these pokémon will still be rampaging! We don't know that there's an off button to those things."

"There isn't." Adrien said. "But Alya's right. We need to leave the cities to the police and to our friends. By making a beeline for Gabriel, we can at least make sure there's no second round."

"Lucas!" Karen gasped.

"What is it?"

"A couple of the pokémon, the megas, they're guests. I recognize them. This one is right over the Hideaway."

Alya frowned. "Given the connections, it's not surprising that Hideaway pokémon are among those used. What'll you do?"

Lucas readjusted his grip on the wheel. "I'm going to get you to Geosenge Town."

"What's the point, though?" Juleka asked. "Why attack?"

"Those devices." Adrien said. "While I was captured I learned a little about how they work. They're apparently primarily absorbed excess energy, like the big one in Dad's studio where you found me. In theory, he could leave them on pokémon indefinitely and they would hardly notice a difference. The only problem is that what he wants requires a whole load of energy. Much more than he'd get passively like that."

"But he can't possibly transfer energy that way, can he?" Karen asked. "Any energy collected would stay in the device."

Ross huffed. "Of course not." He signed, letting Adrien take care of sending his words to the adults in the cabin of the truck. "Not on that scale. But from what you told me about the one in Gabriel's studio, it's definitely possible, isn't it?"

"Exactly." Marinette said. "That device drew in energy somehow. I think Infinity Energy is different than what we normally consider energy."

"Very different." Adrien affirmed. "And yes, it is possible, but…" He shook his head. "It would require so much planning. And luck. And Dad doesn't do luck."

Ross hummed. "With receivers properly situated around each city, he could gather the majority of the energy into a few centralized cores. But to get those across the region back to Geosenge… even if the Ultimate Weapon acted as the same way as the big one in the studio, he'd need to get those batteries at least to Shalour or Cyllage. Probably much closer."

"We have to act under the assumption that Ross is right." Alya said. "Which means Gabriel probably has some plan to get those batteries here. Ideas?"

Nino raised a hand. "Mega pokémon, of course. Like Aerodactyl. The ones that follow orders. Surely, he had a few of those models of the devices left over, right?"

"Good call."

"So, what do we do about it?" Marinette asked.

"Getting to Geosenge Town will take time." Alya said. "Call the guys in Lumiose, let them know what's going on. With luck, they can find the battery and stop its delivery."

"On it." Juleka said.

"So, we hope?" Nino asked. "That he doesn't need all of them?"

Alya looked to Adrien, who bit his lip. "I don't know." He said. "Dad's careful. In any other situation, I'd say of course he wouldn't need all of them. He'd make back-ups. But he doesn't really want to hurt anyone. It's all just collateral. I'm not sure how those would balance out."

"They're already searching." Juleka said. "And fighting."

"Kids!" Karen called. "Problem!" Nino looked to her, then followed her pointing finger to the mega aerodactyl in the sky. It was still far, probably not too far out from Geosenge Town, but Nino knew what it was.

They didn't have to wait too long to find out if it was heading out to retrieve one of the batteries, or if it was coming for them.

The earth shook when it swooped into a skidding landing. Nino held onto the side of the truck bed for dear life as Lucas swerved to avoid it. Nino saw a thick tail swing towards them and ducked down, trying to flatten himself against the truck bed.

And then his ears were ringing after the hideous crunch, and he was weightless and he felt like his stomach was still a mile back where they came from.

 _Boom!_ Nino cried out when he became suddenly not-so-weightless and slammed into the hard metal truck bed, and then he was weightless once more. The world was a blur of black, yellow, gray, blue, and white. Red and green confetti streamed alongside the flashing colors.

Everything hurt. Everything burned. He groaned and struggled to his feet, gasping for breath. The hot asphalt felt sticky under his hands, everything was blurry.

"Mawile!" He heard Marinette gasp painfully.

Adrien's voice joined her. Nino didn't need to see him to know how he looked. The grimace was in his tone. "Plagg!"

"Mega evolve!"

Nino squinted. He couldn't tell exactly how far the huge gray blob was, so he just backed away as fact as he could.

Then, in a moment, the world snapped to focus. That, weirdly enough, only disoriented Nino even more. He reached up, feeling his face and pulling his hand away sticky and warm with a little blood, but confirming that his glasses had fallen off in the crash.

Marinette was wheezing on her knees, looking up at Mawile and Bisharp and Tikki who were protectively circled around her. Adrien was standing, but barely. He was leaning over, supporting himself with a hand on his knee as he called out to Plagg and Ghenn. Lucas and Karen were climbing out of the truck, which had landed on its side, but they seemed relatively unharmed. Ross was helping Juleka to her feet and casting a pained and concerned look his way. _Oh. He's making my eyes work._

 _Or, well, he's making my brain think my eyes work. Weird._

But Alya was on the ground, unmoving, between them and the aerodactyl, and the aerodactyl took a step forward, towards her.

Marinette and Adrien shared a look. "Mawile, Iron Head!"

"Night Slash, Plagg!"

Both mega pokemon leapt to defend Alya, forcing the aerodactyl back before it could get too close. Nino ran ahead with the rest of them to cover Alya. He slipped his arm under her and sat her up so Juleka, Ross, and he could get a better look at her. Marinette and Adrien just closed ranks between them and the aerodactyl, not risking a glance back.

Alya stirred. Nino felt a tap on his shoulder. Ross slipped his cracked glasses back onto his face when he turned to look. _Durable little things, huh. Come on Alya. If my glasses survived, so can you._

He felt Alya adjust in his arms, reaching out slowly to clutch at his shirt. He cradled her close and looked around for where her glasses had fallen. Juleka handed them to him before he had even found them. "Thanks." He said. Juleka just nodded and stood and pulled out a pokéball and faced the aerodactyl.

Alya groaned into his chest. Aerodactyl roared and reared up. A few quick, powerful beats of its wings sent a gust strong enough that Nino thought he'd fall over, and the aerodactyl lifted up into the air.

"Oh, shit." Nino muttered, seeing the glowing energy in aerodactyl's maw.

"Bisharp! Mawile!" Marinette called, the panic edging into her voice.

"Goodra!" Juleka called out her pokémon to assist as well.

The three jumped in front of the fragile humans and less sturdy pokémon, and Rhyperior appeared in the lineup as well to aid them, quickly joined by myriad smaller pokémon to support, and together they combined their strength to set up a Protect barrier.

Aerodactyl screeched, the sound pierced Nino's still-ringing ears like a knife. He flinched, and when he looked up once more, all he saw was a blinding, brilliant light.

The attack that erupted from Aerodactyl's maw was so powerful that just the preparation for it sent shivers down Nino's spine. As it spilled out like flames, waves were emitted from it, visceral and terrifying and kinetic in the way a deep, too-loud bass from a speaker half a meter behind you shook you to your core. The blustering wind from the wing beats accented that power.

Even in the face of the mega salamence and the unhinged mayhem it caused, Nino had never felt so totally overpowered.

Aerodactyl's Hyper Beam focused and began its trajectory towards them. It hit the protective dome supported by any and all pokémon who knew the move and expanded, following the curvature down to the ground around them. The Protect wobbled. Rhyperior dropped to his knees. Goodra growled, a strained and painful sound. Only Mawile seemed up to the task of holding the Protect, though she obviously had her own difficulties, and Bisharp fared better than the rest as well.

Nino was kneeling for a few seconds within a dome of white fire. He felt the earth shake but couldn't see what was happening outside. He could barely see what was happening inside, with the brightness of it.

And then, in the same way the light enshrouded them, starting with the point closest to the aerodactyl, the light slid off the dome, and expanding circle of vision revealing the devastation outside.

The road was totaled, if Aerodactyl's previous landing hadn't already torn up the asphalt enough. The Hyper Beam didn't even leave any asphalt behind. Nino had no idea whether it was sent flying far away in pieces or completely disintegrated, but no matter the method, there was only a tight circular mesa of asphalt on top of a sea of dead, brown, smoking dirt. _Well, I understand why Hyper Beam is banned now. That thing would have killed us._

Ross released Manectric and growled an order. Manectric jumped through the crowd, into the crater, and shot off a Thunderbolt, catching the aerodactyl while it was recharging.

"Mawile, Ice Beam!"

"Ghenn, Flamethrower!"

"Goodra, Dragon Pulse!"

The others followed Ross' lead and sent their strongest ranged attacks to capitalize on the opportunity. They succeeded in locking up the aerodactyl's wings, sending it crashing to the ground, but it didn't seem to have hurt their opponent much. It just clambered back to it's feet and roared at them.

"Holy fuck." Alya said, beginning to pull away from Nino and rise to her feet. "Was that what I think it was?"

"Wait." Nino held fast to her, not letting her push herself. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." She grimaced. "Well, as fine as the rest of you." He stood with her and reached for his own pokémon in time with her as well.

Plagg stepped forward and used Stone Edge to send towering pillars of glowing stone trailing towards, then surrounding the aerodactyl. It smashed through them easily, but Plagg was bringing them up randomly, striking its tail, then wing, then body, then leg, not letting the aerodactyl respond.

"Are you two okay?" Lucas asked, placing a hand on Nino and Alya's shoulders.

"Fine." Nino said. "Stay behind me." He tossed his pokéball, releasing Noivern to join the fray. Alya let out Luxio.

Aerodactyl screeched and returned fire with a Stone Edge of its own, each spire even larger than Plagg's. The massive spikes sprang from the earth beneath their feet. "I don't get it." Alya said. Nino glanced to her for an explanation, but the pillar that appeared between them cut off anything more.

"Mawile! Knock it off it's feet!" Heeding Marinette's command, Mawile dove in for close combat. Her powerful strikes were enough to force the aerodactyl to dodge or block, so everyone else got a respite from the Stone Edge.

"Plagg, down low!" Plagg's horn glowed green and he pounced, swiping at Aerodactyl's legs with a Megahorn while Mawile was in the air drawing its attention with her flurry of Iron Head attacks.

The aerodactyl flipped, spun around its suspended body in midair, and landed with a crash on its side. Alya shared a look with Ross. "Thunderbolt!" Manectric and Luxio simultaneously let loose their electricity into the aerodactyl. "Nino!"

"You're up, Noivern!" _We're getting a little too good at this. Thought the same back when, but I guess it's like riding a bike._ Noivern, from the skies, positioned himself above the paralyzed aerodactyl and unleashed a powerful Boomburst attack. The earth shook from the force of it, but even still it didn't match the power of a mega pokémon. "Jules, take it away!"

"Aqua Tail!" Goodra filled in the gap just as the others' attacks died down, slamming aerodactyl even deeper into its crater with his bulky tail. "Plagg!"

Adrien smirked and Plagg leapt in to deliver a devastating Night Slash, an attack that radiated such waves of power that it made the rest of their attacks look like little sparks from a pichu. The dust hadn't even cleared before Nino saw Mawile jump right back in.

"Arceus, kids." Lucas muttered, aghast.

"If we hold back, we get hurt. Maybe even die." Alya said, giving Lucas just a passing glance. "Something you learn quick doing this."

The dust cleared. Mawile stood atop Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl coughed and shook its head and started to shakily rise, but Rhyperior jumped on, using his bulk to keep the weakened mega pinned.

"But I don't get it." Alya said, raising a hand to her chin.

"What's up, Fox?" Adrien asked casually.

"Aerodactyl isn't like the others. It's in control. It's stronger, too, but it's definitely not just lashing out. So why is it fighting with intent to kill? Your dad doesn't want us dead."

"Maybe he just trusts we're capable of handling it." Nino offered.

"No." Adrien said. "Normally, yeah, but even then, he'd draw the line at something like that Hyper Beam. Even with all our pokémon together we barely managed to hold up the Protect."

"Focus, guys." Marinette said. "We can figure it out after we finish this." Rhypherior struggled to keep his balance as the aerodactyl fought to rise. Mawile bought time by taking out the aerodactyl's limbs and it managed to get them under it, but Nino could see they were running out of time. "We don't even know if it has one of those devices."

"It doesn't." Adrien said. "We need to subdue it as it is. Its evolution is triggered at the lab."

"Is there no way to stop it?"

"If we knock it out or stall long enough it should lose the mega form but no, there's no targeting the source unless we can get to where the machine is."

Alya sighed. "Which may not even be in his hideout. It could be another base entirely."

"Exactly."

"Kids?" Karen called.

"Alright." Marinette said. "Then we finish this conventionally."

"Jules, we're going to need an Energy Ball."

Marinette got a mischievous gleam in her eye. "Abomasnow?" She asked. Nino smiled when he noticed her smirk.

"Abomasnow." Adrien confirmed.

"Roserade, please." Juleka said. "Rhyperior, off on Adrien's mark!"

Karen nodded, recognizing they had a plan, and backed off to put herself between Lucas and the battle. Adrien locked eyes with Roserade, watched as she developed the Energy Ball in front of her, then called it. "Now!"

Rhyperior tumbled off, scrambling back out of the blast radius. Mawile just hunkered down and shot her Ice Beam to intercept Roserade's attack. The swirling energy within Roserade's attack slowed, froze, crystallized, then shattered. An explosion rivalling that of a mega attack threw the aerodactyl, just back on its feet, back into the woods lining the road. A line of trees splintered and toppled under the impact when Aerodactyl hit them.

"Close in!" Adrien said. "Ghenn, on me. Roserade, Venom Drench."

Roserade ran up with the rest of them and sent a shower of purplish fluid raining down on the aerodactyl. Adrien chuckled. "Nino, you might want to get Politoed ready."

"Fuck, what?"

"Light it up, Ghenn!"

Ghenn shot out a narrow stream of fire that downright exploded when it made contact with Roserade's venom. It so rapidly and so brilliantly lit up the forest that everyone, Nino included, froze for a moment enraptured by the sight. The gust of wind that accompanied the sudden ignition sent searing air to sting his face and he had to bring up a hand to shield himself from it.

 _Oh, shit._ "Politoed!" He called out to his pokémon and coughed from the heat. "Water Pulse." _Damnit Adrien. Always a performer._

Politoed created the sphere of water, but Adrien intercepted it with a laugh. "Plagg, you're up!"

When Politoed released the attack towards the rising pillar of flames, Plagg sent a Razor Wind attack to intercept it and scatter the water over the area, dousing most of the flames but also soaking them all to the bone.

Aerodactyl screeched, a pained one rather than one of rage. "Your turn, Bug!"

Marinette shook her head. "Ice Fang!" Mawile took hold of the aerodactyl's dorsal stony projection with her jaws and froze it. "Iron Head!" With one jaw holding on, Mawile smirked as she lined up a shot with her other one. Then, with a twirl, she slammed into the frozen dorsal projection with all her might. Nino flinched when he heard a sickening crack, and the aerodactyl was sent flying right out from under Mawile straight through another patch of trees.

"Arceus, kids!" Lucas exclaimed.

"It'll be fine." Marinette said impassively, looking out to where the aerodactyl had been sent. "But that should just about do it."

"Politoed." Nino said. "Try to put out the rest of the flames." Politoed jumped happily and hopped off to the nearest smoldering patch of grass.

Meanwhile, Nino followed Adrien and the rest of the group towards the aerodactyl. Plagg and Mawile led the way, protective in case Aerodactyl had some fight left in it, but their worry was unfounded. They found Aerodactyl laying still at the end of a long stretch of torn-up earth, against the trunk of a particularly thick tree. Nino sighed. It was unconscious, and back to looking like a regular aerodactyl.

Adrien knelt next to it and put his hand carefully on its neck. "Sorry, friend." He said. "I wish there was a gentler way."

Ross likewise knelt down but he touched his forehead to Aerodactyl's. He purred something for his and Aerodactyl's ears only, and then stood.

"Lucas." Marinette said. "Sorry about your car."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. That was… savage. I've never seen a fight like that in person before."

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "I know."

Karen crossed her arms. "I've seen similar things, but never on that scale." She shook her head. "To think kids like you are mixed up in something like this."

Alya hummed. "How do we get to Geosenge now? The truck is totaled, and we don't have the luxury of time anymore."

"We'll have to rely on our pokémon." Marinette said.

Ross tapped her shoulder. "Gallade can teleport part of the way at least." He signed. "If it's just the humans he's transporting."

"Ralts can help. He's strong, so as long as Gallade can make sure we teleport to the right place we should get a little closer."

Ross nodded. "Geosenge isn't far, we should get to the town without a problem."

"Then it's just a matter of finding Gabriel."

"Mightyena can sniff him out." Juleka said. "It's a start, at least."

"Hold on." Lucas said. "What about this guy?" He gestured to the aerodactyl.

"I'll call it in. People will be out to retrieve it as soon as they have the manpower." Karen said.

"Which, given the mega attacks, could be a while." Alya said.

"Yes."

"We can't just leave it." Lucas said.

"But we can't stay." Marinette answered.

Karen sighed. "Lucas…"

"No. No way."

"I need to be there to arrest Gabriel."

"You are not leaving me behind with that thing. I'd sooner take my chances with y'all."

Karen took his hands, holding them gently between the two of them. "I'll leave Rhyperior here with you. Aerodactyl is back to its normal form and already weakened, so Rhyperior should be more than enough if it wakes up and tries to attack again."

"But if you don't have Rhyperior…"

"The kids are plenty strong enough to beat Gabriel. Trust them. But I need to be there to arrest him, so I can't stay with you."

Lucas bit his lip. "I know." He pulled one hand free to run it through his hair. Chuckling a little hysterically, he said, "This is way beyond what I expected, to be honest. Mega evolution is on a whole other scale, and… I'm not a trainer, so… Yeah. Better this way. I won't slow you down. Wish I could have seen it through with you guys, though."

Karen kissed his cheek. "Me too. Thank you." She turned to the group, who had all returned their pokémon, save Gallade and Ralts. "You guys ready?"

Nino felt grimy with sweat and ash and dirt. His heart fluttered at the thought of the final battle so close. He breathed in relief at finally having their showdown with Aerodactyl, the pokémon that they had run-ins with but never a real fight. He looked over the apocalyptic scene of their battle and licked his lips. They tasted of dirt and salt and iron.

His body ached. He didn't even want to guess at how many cuts and bruises he had. And he saw that everyone else was in a similar state. But still, he nodded.

"We're ready." Marinette said.

Juleka and Ross took Adrien's hands, so Nino came up right behind Juleka and took hold of his friend's arm. Adrien smiled and shook his head. "Ready. Gallade, Ralts?" Gallade set Ralts on top on his head and they nodded in sync with each other. "Let's go, then."


	19. Adagio

_I really should have expected this._ Ross thought. He was filthy, though admittedly that was mostly from the car crash and battle with Aerodactyl. But the face full of dirt he was greeted by was definitely not Aerodactyl's fault. _Or at least considered it. You too, Adrien._

He groaned and forced himself up to his knees. _Can't blame him, though. I didn't stop to think about it either. Where did I end up?_

The good news was that the battle site was nowhere to be seen. That meant that he had at least been teleported. _In theory… probably somewhere along the way._ He paused and listened, catching the sound of a babbling creek somewhere off to his left, and the purr of engines to his right. The scent of asphalt and smoke and actual, cooked food convinced him that was where civilization laid.

 _Well, with luck, that's Geosenge town._ He sighed and stood. _Well shit. That's a hell of a mystery no one thought was a mystery and didn't even really need solving. But damn if it didn't just get solved._

 _Apparently, I'm a dark type. Good to know. The fact I was teleported at all means I don't have quite the immunity most dark types do but I still throw off psychic stuff apparently. Really shouldn't rely on Teleport anymore. Who knows what can happen?_

 _And again, really should have seen that coming. I am part zoroark after all. It'd be kind of weird if Teleport did work perfectly. Bright side, Adrien and the others should have gotten there alright. I don't think me being there would screw up the teleport for everyone. Though, I guess that's more Adrien's expertise than mine._

 _Something I should keep in mind though, if I have that trait of the dark type, I'm probably also especially vulnerable to bug and fighting as well. Best keep an eye on that._

 _Adrien must be worried._ He reached into his pocket and pulled out Lucario's pokéball. _May as well have some company._ After he texted Adrien to let everyone know what had happened, he started his trek, releasing Lucario and pocketing the empty pokéball once more.

"Where are we?" Lucario asked.

"Hopefully, not far from Geosenge."

"Hopefully?"

"I'm a little too dark type for a Teleport, apparently."

Lucario giggled. "Oh. So, we're just walking, then?"

"If you'd rather stay in the ball…"

"No! It's fine. I wanted to find a time to talk to you anyway."

Ross arched his brow. "You did?"

"Duh. I feel like everything from when you rescued me was so rushed!"

Ross hummed. "I get that. It did happen pretty quickly."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm just fine." He pursed his lips. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well I know Lailah was already caught when you got out, and you never told me about when you went to see her, and there's you and Adrien, too! Which is a good thing, but it's still a lot real quick. And about Talbot – we never really talked about that, either. And Gabriel, too, I know you knew him. And-"

"Okay, okay, I get it. My life is fucked."

Lucario giggled again. "I didn't mean it like that. Your aura is strong – I know you're not in a super bad place. But still. It's a lot. And… and I kind of wanted to talk about it, anyway."

Ross smiled gently. "Whatever you want to talk about." He said. "But let's do it one at a time, yeah?"

"Ha, alright. Are… um…" Lucario shuffled a little and crossed his arms over his chest. "About what we did. What, uh, Talbot made us do."

Ross blinked. "You're still thinking about that?"

"I… you're not?"

"Of course not. Dude, none of that was you. It doesn't matter if it's your dick or not, it was Talbot that did it. Told you before, didn't I?"

"Oh." Lucario hesitated before dropping his arms back to his sides. He still kept his head tucked low, though. "And… what does Adrien think about it?"

"What does he…" Ross frowned. "Why would he think anything? He doesn't know."

"You haven't told him?"

"I didn't go into that kind of detail." Ross rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Would it really matter, anyway? It's not like you were complicit in it."

Lucario frowned. "Well you at least understand how it might be weird for you. Adrien could think the same thing."

Ross worried his lip. _What would Adrien think? I… it's hard to really imagine hating the tool that Talbot used rather than Talbot himself. Or maybe like a jealousy thing? Because he's technically fucked me and Adrien and I aren't in that kind of place? Or like… I don't know. But why would Lucario worry about it? Adrien isn't the type to harbor enmity for someone if the actual victim has already forgiven them. He barely can hold a grudge when he's the one wronged._

 _Unless…_ Ross licked his lips deliberately, preparing for his question. "What do you think?"

"It's one thing when you're just friends but if you two start dati-"

"I meant, Lucario, what do you think about the whole situation. Not Adrien. I've been clear about my opinion on it, but what's yours?"

"Mine?" Lucario grew silent. Ross glanced his way, watching his friend struggle with his words. "I… I feel bad. I know you don't blame me, but I still feel guilty. I should have been able to do something. Anything. To stop it, or at least make it easier."

"You did." Ross stepped closer and took Lucario's head in his hands. He touched his forehead to Lucario's, then with a smile shifted into a nudging nuzzling as he spoke. "You did make it easier."

Lucario froze in shock, then closed his eyes and leaned into Ross. "I did?"

"Of course. I know neither of us wanted it, but with you it was much closer to something good. You cared, and I knew that, and that made it better."

"Oh. Good."

Ross smiled at him. Looking at Lucario, a warmth filled his heart – something that only his pokémon and Adrien had managed to conjure from him. But with Lucario, it was different. Even from Adrien. It wasn't unbridled affection or idolatry or even the same kind of love that he had for anyone else. It was the kind of bond forged through fire. It was being with someone who knew intimately your flaws, the things that carved you open and everything that had violated you. It wasn't the kind of reliance that was formed though trust and the upholding of it like the others had with each other, through the Lumiose attacks. It was the kind of reliance that was formed because they had no other choice but to sink and die.

No, Lucario wouldn't always have the right words, and neither would he. Lucario wouldn't always make the right decisions, and neither would he. It didn't work because they fit together perfectly – it wasn't that they knew what the other needed or what to say or when to say it. It was that they knew, intimately, each other's pain. Even if they fumbled with how they helped each other, that unshakable truth was always behind it, and that was why just being together helped. They may not understand each other perfectly, but they perfectly understood the other's situation. And they cared. Lucario cared so much, and Ross couldn't help but return the feeling. And that was what mattered.

And Ross would do anything for Lucario, because he cared and because he knew and because he knew Lucario deserved better. "Do you understand?" He asked. "Does that make it any easier?"

Lucario chuckled uneasily. "You didn't just say that to make me feel better, did you?"

"Come on. Would I do that?"

Lucario shook his head and grinned. "No. And yes, that does help."

"Good." Ross ruffled Lucario's fur roughly. "Obviously I wish you weren't there because… yeah. But I am glad you were there. If that makes sense."

"I get it." Lucario touched his wet nose to Ross'. "Thanks. I feel the same way about you."

Ross chuckled and pulled back so they could continue their walk to Geosenge Town. "I love you, buddy. Don't forget that. And nothing that happened in that basement made me do anything but love you more, got it?"

Lucario covered his face with his paws and mumbled, "I love you, too." He hurried a little to catch up since Ross had already continued on the path. "But, uh, what if Adrien isn't comfortable knowing we've…"

Ross snorted. "We've what? We haven't had sex. I think Adrien knows the difference."

"Heh. I guess you're right. I'm just worried."

"Don't be. Adrien is going to love you. Heck, he already does and you two have barely even seen each other."

"That's what I was saying about everything happening so quickly. And now we're after Adrien's dad? Do I even want to know what that's about?"

Ross laughed. "You already know the important bits. Gabriel is why we were here in the first place. Adrien went after him when he fled Lumiose after the attacks there."

"That's when you all met, right?"

"Not exactly. It's where we got involved in fighting like we do. The others, except the adults, of course, are all classmates. And actually, Josh only joined them for this journey. He wasn't there during the Lumiose attacks."

"Oh. That's why those guys are so good together."

"Hah, yep." He rubbed his neck with a hand. "To tell you the truth, sometimes I feel like I don't really belong with them. They all went though that back then, and I mean Rocco did, too, but… He shook his head. Not to mention the fusion thing."

"But they're your friends."

Ross smiled. It was simple, to the point, and countered all his doubts. "Yeah."

Lucario hummed. "How is Adrien doing? This must be hard for him."

"I like to think I'm helping. For what it's worth. Either way, I think he's fine for now. We need to keep an eye on him, but Adrien is probably even more firmly than me of the opinion that Gabriel needs to be in jail. Capturing him shouldn't be a problem – in that sense, anyway. And we should remember, even though he hasn't been caught, Adrien's known about what Gabriel's done for like, half a year now. He's had time."

"I guess you're right. What about you?"

"I never liked the guy anyway. Rocco thought he was overbearing and negligent. Josh thought he was a snob." Ross shrugged. "Aside from how it affects Adrien, I really couldn't care less. I'm only here for him." He paused. "Well, and Manectric. She was one of the pokémon Gabriel used for the Lumiose attacks. I'm going to feel good bringing him down. Hopefully Manectric will, too."

"What about your mom?"

Ross shook his head. "She's not my mom."

"Ross…"

"What? She's not. She's a certifiably insane scientist who just happens to have been related to one of the people she killed to create me. If that makes her my mom, then I've grossly misunderstood family."

"You still call Arthur your dad."

"He… is different. He's a good person, who I know will treat me like his son, even though I'm not."

"You don't think of him that way? I thought you told him you did."

"I lied." Ross sighed. "I don't have parents. And that's not even like one of those exaggerations either, I legitimately don't have parents. Being the dad of one of the model specimens that made me doesn't make him my dad. Because I'm not really Josh." He fiddled with the hem of his shirt a little. "But… once this is all over, I'd be glad to act like he's my dad." He smiled. "Who knows, maybe one day I'll be able to say that to him and be honest about it. I'd like that to be the case. Until then I'll lie through my teeth because I don't have any reason not to. That'd just hurt everyone and get us nowhere."

Lucario quietly observed him for a few paces. "You know," He said, "I didn't think you were the type to lie to spare someone's feelings."

Ross snickered. "I'm not. Maybe I do care about him, at least a little. He may not be my dad, but he's the closest I have. And I can see myself thinking of him that way, once things settle down and he gets used to me. That's what I meant. I wasn't lying, exactly, just… hoping, I guess. Being family is more than blood, and I could tell from that moment that, beyond the blood portion, he was a good dad. If he considers me his son, I'd be glad to reciprocate. Besides, it was so cute how he tried to sign for me. That should tell you all you need to know, really."

"Hmm. So, you really don't care about Lailah?"

"No, I care. I hate her guts. I care that she's locked up, because it makes me so happy to know she's in prison. She deserves it."

"Oh…" Lucario whined a little. "That's really sad."

"Is it?"

"Don't you wish you had a mom?"

"Not freaking her. If I really need a mom, I'll go to Karen." Ross saw Lucario smile just a little at that comment. "In a way, I'm kind of glad that I'm Ross. If I was Josh, I'm not sure how easily I'd be able to just say fuck off and move on like I can now. So, thanks, Lailah, for giving your son – sort of – the exact arsenal to never give you the time of day and not feel bad about it."

Lucario giggled. "Are you glad you went to see her?"

Ross sighed and shrugged. "I'm not sure. It didn't really change anything. I guess I'm glad I got to have that last face-to-face, you know? As Ross, I hadn't even seen her until then. Even though nothing really changed, it did kind of put things in perspective. So, yeah, I guess."

"Do you wish you could have seen Talbot? Had one last showdown?"

"Do you?"

Lucario bowed his head. "A little. But it wouldn't matter, really, since he wouldn't be able to understand me."

"Don't underestimate just yelling at him. Surprisingly cathartic."

Lucario snorted a little. "I'll keep that in mind."

"But it sounds like, if he could understand you, you have something you'd want to tell him."

"…Yeah. I guess so."

"We can always go see him once this is all over, if you want. You'd be going through two different translators, but we could get your words to him if that's something you really want to do."

Lucario's eyes gleamed, filled with appreciation and sadness. "I… I'll think about it. Thank you. Would you have anything to say to him?"

Ross took a moment to think it over. "Not really. Honestly, I'm pretty satisfied with how Alya handled it."

Lucario barked with laughter. "She was pretty thorough, wasn't she?"

"That's my girl."

"Still. Nothing?"

Ross sighed. "I don't know. Nothing at the moment, at least. Frankly, I'm glad to be rid of him, and thinking about seeing him again…" He grit his teeth. "I don't want to. I don't want to do it, I don't want to think about it. I just want him gone. I want to forget he exists. Going back to talk to him would just be digging that all up, and it's barely settled as is."

"But… you said if I wanted to…"

"If you want to see him, then of course I'd go. I wouldn't even imagine of leaving you to do that on your own."

"I don't want you to hurt because of it."

"It'd be worth it if it meant you'd feel a little better."

"Not for me."

"Look." Ross took Lucario's paw in his hand. "One good thing did come out of it all. I met you. You are what makes that whole episode better. If revisiting it can help you, that'll help me. Get it? So, don't hesitate to ask, if you do want to see him."

"I…" Lucario trained his eyes on the ground. "Okay."

"Promise?"

"I…"

Ross smiled. "You need to tell me if there's ever anything I can do for you, alright? Don't keep it secret because you think, or even know I'm not jazzed about it. We'll talk about what to do from there but don't just hide it. Please."

Lucario nodded. "Okay. I can promise that."

"Good." Ross hooked an arm around Lucario's shoulders, pulling him close as they continued their walk.

"And you promise me the same thing, okay?"

"Sure thing. It's a deal."

* * *

"Ross! Thank goodness." Marinette approached him not long after he had reached Geosenge. "I was worried you ended up somewhere too far away."

He smirked. "Can't get rid of me that easily."

Marinette frowned and looked away from him, which made him hesitate. _I wasn't being serious._ "Well, I'm glad you're here. Did you let Adrien know you got to town alright?"

"Not yet." He signed, quirking an eyebrow at her. "I was just about to text everyone."

She watched him for a moment, not understanding, until he just shook his head. "You should do that." She said.

Ross took out his phone and complied. "So where are we on finding Gabriel?" He asked, fumbling to sign it as he typed.

Once again, the message was lost. Ross frowned and thought of how to ask again. He ended up just signing Gabriel's name, which he knew Marinette would understand. "Not much luck." She said. _Good, she can at least infer._ "We've split up to try and find a clue, but no one has any more than old legends. Mightyena tried sniffing him out but he just keeps leading us to one of those monoliths outside town. Alya and Juleka are there seeing if it's a secret entrance or something, but we haven't found anything solid yet."

"Oh, so I haven't missed the fun bit. Lovely."

"You should go find Alya. That's our best lead there. I'll keep looking around in case that one falls through."

"Aye, aye, captain. Before I go, though." He leaned over a little, trying to catch her averted eye. "You alright?"

A pause as Marinette interpreted his gestures. "Fine. I just want to get all this over with."

"I don't think that's it."

She glared at him, but as quickly as it came, it faltered, and her expression softened. "How would you know if that's not it?"

He shrugged. "No particular reason. Heck, maybe I'm wrong. But you're not really the same around me as you are with the others."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't understand you well enough. We'll have to do this another time." Something nagged at him, but he just shook his head and sighed. _That's the problem with signing. Normally it's fine but talking with Lucario really is just such a relief because of all these shenanigans that I don't have to worry about. Ah, well. Nothing for it I guess._

 _Still, I'm not convinced she's being entirely honest. She's not as proficient as the others but she definitely understands enough. Not that it matters. I'm not super invested in this._

"Alright." He signed. "Where's Alya?"

"Go west out of town and you should run into her. It's right along the path."

Ross nodded and walked by, en route to a reunion with someone who could actually speak fluently with him.

"I never noticed before." Lucario said. Ross' ear twitched to focus on him. "But her aura goes crazy around you."

"How do you mean?"

"Normally it's so steady, but just then it was all wobbly. It was angry."

"Angry? Can an aura be angry?"

"Not like it's sentient or anything like that." Lucario hummed. "It was… orangey. Well, it's not a visual thing so that doesn't really explain anything either. Hmm."

Ross chuckled. "I think I get the gist."

"Uh, that doesn't mean she was angry, just to be clear. I couldn't say whether she was or not, just that her aura was kind of mixed up."

He worried his lip and watched Lucario. "Is it something I should be worried about?"

"I'm not sure." Lucario shifted a little. "It might just be because we're so close to the end. It would make sense for her to be feeling a lot of different things right now."

"That's probably it."

"Or it could be you, specifically. This is the first time I've noticed, so… but that could just be because I don't know her well."

 _Could it be me? Why, though? I hope it's just the situation. It would be good to be friends eventually, but if it is me then what's causing it?_

A memory of something that happened to another person danced in his mind. He tried not to think too much about things that happened to Josh or Rocco, since he felt he was deep enough into his life to be able to work with his own, albeit limited, memory. Still, with Marinette he didn't have much else to go off of. _"I love him!"_ Sure, she said it when she was going crazy from the Trick Room, but everything there, while exaggerated, was honest. _That might explain it._ "Lucario."

"Yeah?"

"Would jealously make her aura do that?"

Lucario thought for a moment. "Yeah. Probably. Why? You think she… oh. Oh! Oh, okay, I get it."

Ross sighed. "Yeah. Unfortunately, there's not much I could do to help with that. Especially if she insists on not understanding what I'm saying."

Lucario giggled. "I don't think she does it on purpose."

"I think it's a little on purpose."

"Don't be silly."

Ross shook his head. "Fine. You win. She's clearly not pretending not to understand me to avoid a confrontation about our mutual love interest." They shared a laugh. "Let's hurry to Alya. They all must be restless this close to the end."

"Are you not?"

"Not really. I'm not involved, really. It's kind of exciting, but past that, what reason do I have to be invested in it? There's Adrien, which is just investment by proxy really. I don't even really have a 'I want to go back home and get back to my life' thing like they do since I didn't exist before this adventure."

"Oh."

"Yeah. When your entire life is one journey, you're not exceptionally eager to end it. I don't know what's ahead of me, after this. Not like they do."

"Won't you live with your dad, though?"

"Arthur? Probably. But this is basically all I've ever had. Once we take down Gabriel, I need to completely restart. That's… kind of scary, actually. But exciting, too. I'm a little worried about how Josh I'm going to end up being. I don't want to just take his life. I want to be me, not him. So… I'm not sure where I'll go." He smiled and shook his head. "But that's a dilemma for another day. Today, we finish this, yeah? So let's find Alya."

Lucario hesitated, but nodded without another word, and they continued in silence until they left the town and found Alya and Juleka watching exasperatedly as Mightyena scratched at a broad monolith.

"Ah, Ross, there you are. Could you translate for us, please?" Alya asked when she saw him. "Mightyena's been going crazy trying to tell us something but we just can't figure it out."

"It's! A! Door!" Mightyena howled. "It's not complicated!"

Ross snickered. "How are you sure?" He asked.

"Listen!"

Ross exchanged a look with Lucario and listened closely.

"Get closer and listen!" Mightyena ordered.

Ross did as he was told, standing right next to the stone and focusing. It was faint, very faint, but he heard the whoosh of air and the whirring of a fan. He furrowed his brow. "Air conditioning?"

"Yes!" Mightyena exclaimed, hopping with excitement.

"Ross?" Alya asked.

He signed for her. "Mightyena thinks this is a door. We can hear air conditioning."

"I mean, we thought it might be an entrance, too, but there's no obvious door. No cracks in the stone, no hinges…"

"Have you tried just knocking it over?"

Alya opened her mouth but stopped before responding. "We…" She smirked. "Have not. I like it."

"Alya, no." Juleka said. "You too, Ross. Don't encourage her." Ross just shrugged. "Surely there's a way to open it. If we can't find it by the time everyone else gets here, then we can try brute forcing it."

Alya cracked her knuckles. "I kind of hope we end up just brute forcing it."

"I know you do."

* * *

They ended up just brute forcing it.

The sun had just begun to set, framing their grand entry in brilliant golden light. Everyone was gathered around the stone, the only pokémon out were Plagg and Mawile, who were mega evolved and poised to topple the thing. In the light, Plagg's snowy fur seemed almost the same color as Adrien's hair. Ross had to take a moment to appreciate how beautiful it was.

Adrien squeezed his hand. He squeezed back. "Ready?" Nino asked.

"We're set." Marinette replied.

"Plagg," Adrien said. "Mawile. Please."

The mega pokémon stepped forward and took their positions next to the monolith. Plagg and Mawile jumped in tandem and struck it with a Night Slash and Iron Head near the top. The impact alone could be felt by everyone standing a few meters back. The sound made Ross reach up to grab at his ears. _Other unfortunate side effect of zoroark ears. Can't really cover them. Yikes._

But the monolith tipped. It was thrown to the side, and then it slowed, it's momentum not carrying it easily. Mawile twisted in the air and gave it one more good smack on her way down, and that sent it over the tipping point, and it crashed to it's side in the grass.

Ross flinched from the sound of the impact but stepped forward to investigate. The bottom of the monolith had been hollowed out, and he saw a little pad on the inner wall that no doubt opened a hidden door. "Well, look at that." Alya said, looking at the same thing. "There was a door."

Ross laughed. Karen sighed. "Well," She said, "at least we didn't destroy one of Geosenge Town's historic relics for no reason." _I honestly can't tell if that's sarcastic or not._

"Don't worry, sheriff." Alya chuckled. "They've got loads of them."

"It doesn't look like we actually damaged the rock." Marinette said. "Somehow."

"Yeah." Adrien said. "We can always stand it back up later."

"I'm holding you kids to that." Karen said. She shook her head. "Let's go."

"I'm surprised that thing wasn't held in the ground at all." Nino said. "Seems like a design flaw for a secret base."

"It was." Alya said. "Look. It's just pathetically weak stakes. And the ground itself. That entire bottom bit was buried."

"Eh, good point." They all passed by the overturned monolith, examining it as they did so, and started single-file down the metal stairs they had uncovered.

Whoever built the place clearly wasn't overly concerned with aesthetics. _So, not Gabriel, obviously._ It was a cavernous wall that Ross couldn't tell if it was natural stone or not, but either way it was uneven and cramped, like they were going spelunking. _Which, I guess, technically we are._ The lights reminded him of that, too. All dim and appearing as if they'd give out from old age at any moment. Most were flickering, and they were arranged regularly but sparsely along the descent.

At the bottom, things opened up a bit more. The room they landed in was small, but spacious enough for all of them, and clearly was just the entranceway to a much larger facility. The lights changed from yellowed filaments to white fluorescents, giving the barebones walls a much different feel.

Through a glass door, Ross stepped into a room overlooking a massive chamber. The glass wall opposite him have him a view of the enormous crystal that stood tall in the center of the bunker.

"Is that…" Karen breathed.

"Must be the Ultimate Weapon." Marinette said.

Adrien bit his lip. "It's actually kind of pretty."

"Agreed." Alya said. "Really pretty."

"But it's not what we're here for." Juleka said. "How do we find Gabriel?"

"Try Mightyena."

Juleka nodded and released him from his ball, setting him on Gabriel's scent.

They followed Mightyena through the facility, gawking as they explored. Mostly at the Ultimate Weapon. _It really is impressive. I wonder what it's made of. It reminds me a little of the Anistar Sundial._

But it didn't take too long to find what they were seeking. Mightyena led them away from the main chamber housing the Ultimate Weapon into a short hallway, at the end of which was a room where Gabriel stood, hands behind his back, looking down his nose at them.

"I admit," Gabriel said, "I had hoped that you would have been slowed down by Aerodactyl. I should have known better."

Ross froze, and almost stumbled back into Nino when he looked around the room. Most of it was inconspicuous. Weird, but not unexpected. Gabriel stood behind a desk. Behind him was another desk, this one with a computer on it. There were some machines to the right that Ross caught sight of showing a bar about ninety-percent or so filled. To the left were some more machines, but it was what they were attached to that was unnerving.

In a large capsule, seen through a sleek viewing window, a beautiful woman with golden hair laid with her eyes closed. She had such delicate features, a chin so thin Ross was afraid a loving caress might shatter it, gentle sloping cheekbones supporting her gaunt face.

She might have been sleeping, if Ross didn't know better. And she really was beautiful. Appropriate, that Adrien was her son. _Death certainly took its toll, though._

For some reason, he found it hard to breathe. It didn't make sense. Josh knew her, sure, and he liked her, but even he wasn't so attached as to think of her as another mom or anything like that. And Ross, well, Ross was completely separated from the situation. Still, seeing her there made something in his chest tighten to an uncomfortable degree, and he just wanted that feeling to go away. _Adrien._

He broke out of his own shock to grab Adrien's hand and remind him that he was there. _It's alright. You're not alone, here._

"D- Dad, what…" Adrien stuttered.

Gabriel turned, following Adrien's gaze to his mother. Ross saw the look in his eyes change. Everything glacial and stern warmed and softened and Gabriel's lips twitched in the direction of what could be an extremely mournful smile. "Doesn't it make you happy, to see her again?"

"You exhumed her?!" Adrien gasped in horror.

"Of course not. She would never be this well preserved had she been buried for all those years."

"You… you never even buried her. What about the funeral, was that… just an empty casket?"

Gabriel nodded curtly. "Naturally. I knew it was necessary, for your recovery. Just as keeping that pokémon around was. So, I made the arrangements."

"You were planning all this, even back then." Adrien shook his head. "I can't…" Marinette and Alya stepped protectively between him and Gabriel.

Gabriel examined them all one by one as they silently stared him down. "You don't need to fight me, you know."

Alya glared at him and pulled her lip back to bare her teeth. "Like hell we don't. This is fucked up. You're hurting so many people."

Gabriel nodded. "I concede that, of course. But all of that is over now. I have already gathered all the Infinity Energy I need to revive my wife. No more mega evolutions are necessary. No one else will be hurt."

"That doesn't mean we can let you go!" Marinette said.

"If necessary, I will go quietly after my wife is revived. I will face the consequences of my actions. I don't pretend that there are none. But after she has returned to us."

Marinette hesitated and looked back to Adrien.

Karen stepped forward instead. "As a police officer, I can't allow you to do anything further, Gabriel." She took a deep breath. "You are under arrest. Now, will we do this the easy way or the hard way?"

"Don't meddle in things beyond you, guard. As I said, once the last of the energy is delivered and my wife is with us once more, I will turn myself in. Leave now, for all our sakes."

"I can't do that."

Gabriel bowed his head. "Very well. And the rest of you? Adrien?"

Alya held Arcanine's pokéball at the ready, but Marinette was much more hesitant with Mawile's. She turned to Adrien for guidance. Ross, naturally, was in the same position. He didn't really care either way. Seeing Adrien's mother like that was visceral and surreal to him, but he didn't have any reason beyond Adrien himself to wish for any particular result. Juleka and Nino likewise looked to Adrien.

"No." Adrien said. "I'm sorry, Dad. I don't trust you. You need to go to prison, and this is the only way I know to make sure that happens."

"I see." He closed his eyes. "Then prepare yourself. Even if you are my son, I will not hold back."

Adrien readied Plagg's pokéball and narrowed his eyes. "Clearly."


	20. Minuet

Juleka had never seen Emilie Agreste in person. She'd seen pictures, of course. Adrien doted on her so, even after all that time, so she'd seen more than enough photos to get an idea of what she looked like, and she'd heard more than enough stories to get an idea of who she was.

If Adrien was to be believed, she was the very model of grace and justice all in one person. She was the best mother imaginable, always there for him even when he didn't know he needed her, even when he thought he didn't need her, when he didn't want to need her. She brought out the best in him and in his father – and Juleka saw from that fleeting moment that Gabriel looked at her, that part was no exaggeration. Both of them loved her with all their hearts and she loved them in kind. She was the kind of person who went out of her way, crossed the street and went a block down, just to pick up an empty soda can someone had carelessly left. And then, of course, she'd carry it with her for the rest of her walk until she found someplace to recycle it.

She was driven to leave the world a better place than she found it. She was responsible for nearly every charity the Agreste's took part in, she was vocal about fair treatment of not only pokémon but people like Juleka, like Adrien, before even they knew about the community they belonged in. She had so much love that no one could contain it, and everyone who spoke to her was enraptured. She commanded a crowd, she guided them with a gentle but firm hand onto the right path. And everyone was happy to follow her because she inspired trust and love in everyone she met.

Though some of it she had confirmed – like her role in activist circles – Juleka didn't quite believe the extent of Adrien's claims about her. Trust him as she did, he spoke from nostalgia and love and Juleka knew how blinding both could be.

Still, the world was darker without her. That much was certain.

That was why she hesitated. Only for a moment, and everyone else was still talking so it didn't really matter all that much, but she hesitated. She looked at Emilie in that tube and wondered if maybe having her back wouldn't be so bad. She yearned to talk to her, to meet her face-to-face. She wanted to see how many of Adrien's stories were fact and how many were the pining of a mourning son.

She desperately wished they were all true. She wished she could meet a person like Emilie Agreste.

But she couldn't. She couldn't, because Emilie was dead.

And Juleka was furious.

She boiled with rage at what Gabriel had done in his wife's name. If she was the person Juleka imagined her to be – the person Adrien remembered – then Gabriel was simply inexcusable. She understood love, of course, but it was not Gabriel who mattered. It was Emilie. And the Emilie in Adrien's stories would be outraged at the sight of her husband now. Alas, she was gone, but Juleka felt that ghostly fury for her.

There are lines that shouldn't be crossed. Emilie Agreste died trusting in her family to carry on her legacy, and this is what Gabriel had done with it. Partnering with someone like Lailah, encouraging her instead of finding her the help she needed. Digging up the Ultimate Weapon, siphoning the very lives of people and pokémon for the sake of his own goal. And in her name.

No. That simply would not do.

Juleka could not say whether Emilie would approve of reviving the dead, or if she herself would even want it if she had. But the methods that Gabriel had employed were far beyond anything she would stand for. Juleka believed that with every fiber of her being. They were beyond anything Adrien would stand for. They were beyond what Juleka herself would stand for. So, they had to stop him.

She wished, though, that Emilie could see her son now. _She'd be proud._ Juleka sighed, knowing the unfortunate truth behind that sentiment. If she saw Adrien, that would mean she would see Gabriel as well. Juleka couldn't allow that. She couldn't let Emilie see what had become of the man she loved. That would be too cruel.

So, Juleka released Mightyena from his pokéball and readied herself for battle. Mightyena snapped and growled at the sight of Gabriel, and as much as Juleka echoed the sentiment in her heart, she knew she couldn't lose control this time. "Hold, boy."

"Everyone, wait." Adrien said. He stared down Gabriel. "We've been doing this all this time, one battle after another with our lives on the line. Answer one thing for me, will you?" Gabriel inclined his head. "How far is too far? You've nearly killed me more than a few times. Do you really care so little about anyone but her?"

Gabriel did not flinch, did not hesitate. "We raised you to be more than capable of protecting yourself. And in any case, your friends proved themselves competent as well. Truth be told I was glad you stepped in. You minimized unnecessary damages."

"Did you ever stop to think about how it was damaging me?!" Adrien shook his head. "Not only the physical part. I still have nightmares! I've slept properly like twice since this started! I had panic attacks, I had… And you weren't there." His voice broke. Juleka grit her teeth. She had to kneel and pat Mightyena's back to keep him at bay. "Did you ever even consider anyone else? Even me?"

"As I said, you are capab-"

"I'm not looking for you to say you love me!" Adrien exclaimed. "I don't care if you believe in me, or if you're proud of me." Ross put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't. I just want to know if there's anything left of you worth saving."

That gave Gabriel pause. For a brief moment he froze in shock, wide-eyed and mouth agape. Then he recovered his composure. "If I told you I thought about every life that was taken to bring your mother back to us – would that change anything?"

Adrien sniffed. "Hah. No. I guess not." He tossed Plagg's pokéball in the air and caught it a few times, idly considering Gabriel. "You know Mom wouldn't be happy with this."

"I'm aware. Even if she can't stand the sight of me, still I must see this through."

Adrien bowed his head and clutched Plagg's pokéball tightly. "Can I ask something selfish from all of you?" Everyone seemed to lean in a little closer. "Obviously we're not letting you go, regardless, but… I'd like one real battle with you. One on one. I know it's a waste of time, but…"

"That's fine." Karen said. "So long as we know he's not sending out another wave of megas, we can take our time. Wrapping this up quickly wouldn't change anything above, would it?"

Gabriel lowered his head as well. "No, it wouldn't." He said. "If that's what you wish, Adrien, I would be glad to acquiesce. We are in rather cramped quarters, though, and I'd rather not have a stray attack hit your mother. Shall we do this outside?" Adrien shared a look with Marinette. "Of course, the rest of you would follow." Gabriel added. "I know you probably don't believe me, but this is not automated. Once the last of the energy gets here I will need to activate this switch manually." He gestured to a small handle on one of the machines hooked up to Emilie's tank. "But I can't simply leave you to sabotage this in the meantime."

"I don't trust him." Alya said.

"Me neither." Said Nino.

Adrien was quiet for a long moment. "Only into the next room. I don't trust you. But… I do agree. It would be dangerous to do this in here." He looked to Marinette. "And a free-for-all would be even worse."

"I know." Marinette said. "Agreed, everyone?"

"Sure." Alya said. "But I'm standing right at the door."

"Very well, then." Gabriel said. "Right this way." He brushed past Karen and strode purposefully through the door. Juleka saw Alya hesitate, but all of them followed as they had promised.

In the main room, with the Ultimate Weapon as their backdrop, Adrien and Gabriel stood facing each other. Each had a single pokéball in hand.

It was odd. Nothing really rested on that battle, Juleka realized, and yet the air was so thick, so solemn, and everything felt so important. If Adrien did lose, the rest of them would step in. If Gabriel lost, then he'd be a step closer to officially captured. Either way ends with Gabriel behind bars. They had essentially already won. And yet, when Adrien faced Gabriel, Juleka felt like, at least for him, this was the biggest challenge yet.

Alya, in classic Alya fashion, released Aipom to film the battle. Seeing that, Adrien chuckled and shook his head. "Okay. Ready?"

Gabriel nodded sternly and released Lurantis. Adrien took a moment to look at the pokéball in his hand and released Plagg. _Ghenn would be the better tactical choice, but… Plagg is just as involved in this as you are, isn't he? Of course, you would use the pokémon he blamed for her death to stop him from reviving her._

"Are we playing by the rules, here, son?" Gabriel asked.

"I think we're a bit beyond that."

"I see. Then begin."

"Dark Pulse." Adrien's voice was as dark as the move itself as he gave the order. It turned a little angry, perhaps even hateful, but mostly defiant and serious.

Plagg built up the energy in a second and released it throughout the whole room. It washed over Juleka like a frozen wave, sending a shiver down her spine and dimming the already dark cavern to near blackness. The Ultimate Weapon still shimmered, and Juleka thought in the dimness that maybe it was moving somehow, but she summed it up to her eyes playing tricks on her.

 _Smart. Taking out the light cuts off a lot of Lurantis' strength._ "X-Scissor." Lurantis vanished in an instant and Plagg was thrown back. He was sent sailing past Adrien into a metal ladder, yowling in pain. Juleka didn't even see Lurantis move, but sure enough it was there where Absol was standing, ready for its next move. _What the hell?_

Adrien just narrowed his eyes. "So, this is your real power."

"I notice you don't show yours."

Adrien smirked, pulled the Key Stone out of his pocket, and tossed it to Ross. "I don't need it. Plagg." Plagg righted himself and growled.

"You're overconfident. A foolish mistake. That's not the attitude that got you this far." Lurantis sprang again, striking Plagg once more and sending him flying back to the makeshift ring. This time Plagg managed to twist in the air and land on his feet, though Juleka saw his grimace.

"What got me this far is being able to read my opponents and the situation." Adrien said. "And trust in my friends." Plagg tried to jump out of the way of the next attack, but Lurantis appeared above him and slashed him from above, throwing him right back into the ground.

"And yet, you don't appear to see what's happening right in front of you."

"Oh, I see perfectly well. You, apparently, don't." Plagg recovered in record time and leapt up at Lurantis, who was still in the air from its previous attack. Poised to defend itself, Lurantis swiped out just as Plagg should have entered its range, but it miscalculated. With a coy smirk, Plagg fell away once more, just out of range of Lurantis, and as he touched down with his front paws, he pushed off and spun, catching Lurantis across the face with his glowing hind claws. _Feint Attack?_

Lurantis landed neatly, though clearly feeling the blow, and only just got into stance once more when it locked up, cried out, and tipped over writhing on the ground. "Really, Dad." Adrien said. "You should recognize a Future Sight before it comes. Plagg." Plagg pounced, delivering a Megahorn straight to Lurantis' gut, a hit powerful enough to send Lurantis so high in the air it almost reached the top of the Ultimate Weapon. "Pursuit."

Plagg gathered his legs under him and vanished, appearing next to Lurantis in the air, turning the tables on it by sinking his teeth into his opponent and controlling their descent to that he landed on top of Lurantis. "Petal Blizzard." Gabriel ordered.

Pinned to the ground as it was, Lurantis whipped up a whirlwind around it, and pink petals obscured the view of the battle even more than the opening Dark Pulse. Plagg was forced to huddle up and let go of Lurantis. "Stone Edge." Adrien said.

In a tight circle around Plagg, spires of glowing stone sprang from the ground. They covered him like a tent, a circle of them around him, all sloping in towards the middle as they rose, creating a neat little cone inside for him. _He's protected from the Petal Blizzard, but he's trapped himself._

"Are you prepared, Lurantis?" Lurantis nodded. "Solar Blade."

Lurantis lifted one of its scythes high into the air. It glowed golden and shone brilliantly and extended into a towering pillar of light. Adrien tapped his foot. Lurantis began bringing the scythe down. "Now!" Adrien yelled.

From the fort of pillars Plagg resided, a beam equally impressive to Lurantis' Solar Blade appeared. Equally impressive, but for exact opposite reasons. While the Solar Blade was light and dazzling and blinding, Plagg's move was blinding in the more conventional sense that that came from the narrow cylinder was pure darkness. It shot up into the air, a pillar as dark as a black hole, and spilled out over the edges of the Stone Edge, bathing the entire area in a smoky black miasma.

When the Solar Blade made contact with this exact opposite maneuver, it crackled angrily. Gabriel scowled. Adrien smirked. "You know, Dad." Lurantis struggled against the defense but didn't seem to be gaining any ground. "You were right about one thing."

Finally, Lurantis seemed to run out of power and the light fizzled out, just in time for Plagg's tent of stone to explode outwards. Shards of glowing stone flew in every direction, disintegrating and evanescing before they could hit anything. The darkness within, which Juleka finally recognized as Dark Pulse, funneled through the nozzle of the Stone Edge to create an even more powerful move, spilled over the ground like fog. It seemed to slither across the floor, thick enough to hide Plagg's paws as he stepped forward, and it marched with him towards Gabriel's side of the field.

"I am competent." Adrien said. "If there's one thing I got from all the attacks, it was that. I'm not just a performer anymore. I know how to fight. For real. And that's a lesson you may have ended up teaching me a little too well." Plagg vanished in a whiff of black smoke, appearing in multiple around Lurantis. The Double Team in conjunction with the atmospheric display of power was just enough to make Lurantis sweat. It hesitated, dropped its guard for a split second, and that was more than enough for Plagg to see his opening and strike. "Forgive me for getting preachy, but if you had acted more like a dad and made sure I didn't need to learn that lesson, you might have stood a chance."

 _You should use that move in a performance someday._ Juleka thought, enraptured as Plagg grappled Lurantis to the ground, tearing savagely at it with his claws. _Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, you will._

"Ingrain." Gabriel said, not addressing Adrien's words. Lurantis leapt back as best it could and sent roots through the ground. "Growth."

Adrien snarled along with Plagg. "Punishment."

Just as Lurantis began to grow larger, Plagg pounced in once more with claws wreathed in dark energy. He slammed into Lurantis and slashed it a few times and Lurantis shrank back down to normal size.

"Petal Blizzard."

"Plagg, back." Plagg leapt back out of range of the tornado of petals around Lurantis. "Razor Wind."

The wind that Plagg whipped up cut straight through the Petal Blizzard, taking total control of the petals floating around. Plagg's attack pushed them in, towards Lurantis, and Plagg closed the gap between them behind that veil.

"Aim for the roots, Plagg."

Plagg's horn glowed a sinister purple and he ducked under the petals, striking at Lurantis, uprooting it and throwing it back towards Gabriel.

And Gabriel hesitated. "You're angry." He said.

Adrien broke like a rubber band stretched too far. Juleka felt the sting of his words as they snapped back. "Of course, I'm angry!" He screamed. "Who the hell do you think you are?! You're not special! You're not different! You can't just bring someone back to life, I don't care how much you love her! You fucking know she'd hate what you've done but you did it anyway! You know how that story ends, right? The one about bringing the pokémon back to life with this thing?" He gestured to the Ultimate Weapon.

"Of course I know the story."

"Clearly not! The pokémon left him! It left the trainer! Because it couldn't live with the sacrifice made to bring it back! Do you want Mom to feel that?!" Juleka had to take a moment. She actually _hadn't_ heard that ending of the story. _It makes sense, though. I wouldn't want to live at the cost of so many, either._ "All you do now is bring misery! You've tormented me and my friends and you want to bring Mom back from the dead just to do it to her, too!" Lurantis struggled to its feet. "Don't you have any shame? Any at all? Aren't you the tiniest bit self-aware?"

Gabriel hardened his jaw. "Lurantis."

Lurantis hit Plagg with a blindingly quick X-scissor, but clearly the same power wasn't behind it anymore. It knocked Plagg back, but he stayed on his feet and returned with a Night Slash.

Adrien shook his head. His voice returned to normal, though a bit despondent. "I don't know why I'm bothering. You're beyond hope, aren't you?"

Though they were both injured, it was almost hilariously apparent, as Lurantis and Plagg fought in melee with their respective blades, that they were pokémon of people like the Agrestes. Every move was elegant and refined and precise. Each counter perfectly timed and each riposte carefully aimed. Juleka would have guessed in a heartbeat that those two were performers at heart. And though she didn't know for sure about Lurantis, Gabriel's sheer penchant for the extravagant and Lurantis' no doubt formal battle training more than explained it. They danced their battle, and it reminded Juleka a little of Adrien's showcase performance, but this one wasn't for entertainment.

"I never meant for this, Adrien."

"Then why don't you stop fighting?!"

Lurantis caught Plagg with an X-scissor, pushing him back, but he responded swiftly and viciously. "Even if she never forgives me, when she sees you, how much you've grow-"

"Don't you dare turn this on me!" Even Plagg seemed outraged by that one. He slid up beside Lurntis and Sucker Punched its feet out from under it with a smooth spin and finished his twirl with a Night Slash into the toppled pokémon under him. "Don't you dare use me as a defense! Do you really think I'm that stupid?! You think I don't notice that you only care about me when it convenient for you? You think you have the right to pretend like you care after you sent a mega aerodactyl to Hyper Beam my friends and I out of fucking existence?! No! You don't get to say you care anymore! You don't get to treat me like a child anymore. You don't get to act like you know what's best for me, or like you know what I want. And I don't deserve to take that anymore."

Juleka had to, despite the seriousness of the situation, hold back her laughter when she saw Ross silently clapping. _To be fair, it's about time he's said it._

"For the longest time I convinced myself you cared. I thought you just didn't know what you were doing, and that was why you were a shitty dad. But no. No, turns out you would actually murder your son when he becomes inconvenient for your plans!"

"Adrien, I-"

"You don't deserve even the chance to defend yourself. There's no defense for that. And I'm not going to sit here and listen to another bullshit platitude! Don't open your mouth unless it's to fight or to surrender."

Gabriel stood silently while Adrien panted. Lurantis and Plagg backed off for a moment as well, each taking their places beside their trainers. "Very well." Gabriel said after a too-long pause. "I surrender."

"I…" Adrien stuttered. "You… what?"

"I surrender. You are right. My actions were indefensible."

Adrien narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you."

"Return, Lurantis." Gabriel recalled his pokémon and placed its pokéball on the floor in front of him. Then he looked at Karen. "I assume you'll want to handcuff me."

Karen mimicked Adrien's expression. "Alya, go check on Emilie."

"On it."

She walked up and slipped the cuffs around Gabriel's wrists. "What are you playing at?"

"Nothing." Gabriel responded. "My son is right. I, of course, believed he was strong enough to overcome Aerodactyl, but… hearing him I realize that does not excuse it. I threatened his life." Gabriel looked directly at Adrien. "You asked how far was too far? That is it. I would not purposefully harm a hair on your head." Adrien just shook his head in disbelief. "This project has clearly warped my judgement… perhaps it is best if I take a step back for now."

The door burst open as Alya came back. "Everything looks like it did before, but I think the last of the energy's here. And I don't know how to shut it down, but it looks like he was telling the truth that it's not doing much unless someone triggers it."

"Ross, come take a look with me." Adrien said. "Together we should be able to figure it out."

"Optimistic." Ross signed with a proud grin. "But I like your attitude. Let's do this."

Juleka watched the two walk by and looked at Alya. "Is it bad that I was kind of hoping to fight?" She asked.

"Girl I'm right there with you. But it's better this way."

"That's true." She shook her head and followed the boys into the room.

Adrien's hand was on the handle that Gabriel had indicated could bring Emilie back to life. Juleka glanced over to the screen she had noticed before, and the bar was now one hundred percent filled. Adrien took a deep breath, she saw his ribs move out then in, and his fingers slid gently off the handle.

Ross tapped his shoulder. "Found it." He signed, then pointed to a little terminal in the corner of the room. "Ah, right." Adrien said, examining it. "That looks right." He tapped a few buttons and the bar display showing the amount of Infinity Energy disappeared, leaving a blank screen.

He frowned at the terminal until Ross took control and tapped a few more buttons. "There." He signed. "I disconnected the batteries. The cops can take them and donate them to an energy company or something. No sense in it going to waste."

Adrien made a face at that but agreed. "I guess we can just let the cops deal with that." He stood straight, then turned to the tube with his mother in it. And then he just kind of stared for a while.

Juleka was beginning to consider bringing out Roserade to use Aromatherapy – it always helped before – when Ross took his hand and murmured in his ear. Juleka couldn't hear him, not that it mattered, even Adrien couldn't understand him, but still it seemed to break Adrien out of it enough to turn and bury his face in Ross' shoulder.

Juleka stepped closer and wrapped both of them in her arms.

She felt another pair of arms wrap around them and when they slid away to just hands resting on her and Ross' shoulders, she saw it was Karen smiling carefully at them. "Come on, kids. This is no place for us."

Adrien shuddered and clung tighter to Ross. He didn't make noise, but Juleka knew he was crying.

 _This isn't how I imagined it'd go._ She sighed and fell away, letting Karen guide her back into the main chamber. _I didn't think he'd get so close, or that he'd just give up like that._ She swallowed down the bitter taste in her mouth, grimacing at it all. _In some ways, it would have been better if he was just totally lost._

"Oh, yes." She heard Gabriel say as she returned to the group. "I followed your rescue of your friend. I must say, it was impressive work."

"I'm not making small talk." Alya hissed. Still, she let a small smirk work onto her lips. "But thanks. Bastard deserved it."

"Karen." Marinette said. "What's going to happen to Adrien's mom?"

Karen sighed. Juleka felt her hand, still on her shoulder, tighten a little. "For now, she's evidence. Assuming Gabriel cooperates, we should be able to wrap up the case relatively quickly. Then… I imagine she'll be buried." Karen shrugged. "But that's out of our hands. It'll probably be Adrien's decision."

Marinette frowned. "That's so cruel."

"I know. And if that's what he wants I'd be glad to help with the arrangements. I imagine I know a bit more about how it works."

"And Gabriel?" Alya asked.

"If you could take him outside, that would be great. I'll be along once everyone is ready to go."

"Roger that. Come on, Trash Dad."

"Trash Dad?" Gabriel scoffed.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot you're fancy. Garbage Dad. Get a move on." She stepped behind Gabriel and marched him off toward the exit.

Nino shook his head in exasperation. "I'll go make sure she doesn't end up killing him. Jules…"

Juleka nodded. "We've got Adrien. Don't worry."

He nodded and followed Alya. Karen took Marinette's shoulder as well, standing them next to each other as she looked them each in the eye. "How are you two holding up?"

"I'm fine." Marinette said. She looked away, to the floor. "Just worried about Adrien."

Karen's eyes shifted to Juleka.

"Honestly?" She answered. "Right on the brink of just curling up on the floor and sobbing 'til I fall asleep. But that wouldn't help anyone, so I think I'll hold off for now."

It wasn't how she imagined it would go. She thought they'd have a final, climactic battle with all the stakes on it. She thought it would be a huge affair, their last fight, but it wasn't.

It was just a regular battle like you'd see in the gym at school. It was just a boy who had been hurt desperately searching for something redeemable in someone he loved.

There was no catharsis there. Juleka didn't know what exactly she had hoped for from the encounter, but she did know that the result was dissatisfying. Her skin crawled. She itched to do something but there was nothing left to be done.

"It's over now." Karen said to them. "Okay? You guys can finally rest."

Marinette shook her head. "There's still more to do." She said. "But… at least for tonight."

"Go on. I'll get the boys and we'll be right behind you."

Marinette smiled as she shook her head, but she said nothing as she held out a hand to Juleka and turned to face the route out.

Just as silently, Juleka took her hand and followed her up the stairs into the starlight. A crisp, cool breeze brushed past them as they emerged, and Juleka closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _It's over. This part, at least, is finally over._

"Alya?" Marinette asked. "What are you scribbling, now?"

"Just making a note of all our loose ends." She said cheerily. "While questions remain, nothing ever truly ends, does it?" She shook her notepad knowingly. "So, I'm going to make sure everything's answered."

"You know." Nino said. "Just typical Alya."

Marinette chuckled. "Okay, well what have you got so far?"

"Oh, loads. First of all, the obvious, the Hideaway. We still need to make sure something is done about that, or else take it down completely. Then there's some personal stuff we kind of ran out of time to address – especially Reflection Cave. There's where Ross'll go, and what he'll do once he gets there, and if necessary making sure we stay in contact. There's still some loose threads with Talbot, unfortunately. I'm sure any co-conspirators are too far underground by now but at the very least we need to ask Ross if visiting him in jail is something he's interested in. There's Karen and Lucas, of course. There's the question of where your Mega Stones came from in the first place, and whether we should give them back now that it's over, ther-"

"As she said." Nino interrupted. "Loads."

"We'll figure it all out." Marinette said.

"Of course, we will. Still best to be prepared."


	21. Rondo

CB: Alix just checked in. They've finished with the last of the megas.  
AC: good job. were en route to shalour  
CB: You're moving already?  
CB: And Shalour? When are you coming home?  
AC: theres still some stuff we need to wrap up here, but well be there soon I promise  
CB: What could possibly be more important than bringing Adrien home?  
AC: a few things. adris on board anyway  
CB: I was prying. That was a pry. Tell me what's going on.  
AC: lucas and karen the adults who helped us out while we were here have a problem of their own  
AC: were repaying the favor in a way i guess  
CB: Oh, this is about the Hideaway.  
AC: we need to figure out what to do about it  
CB: How much do you trust them?  
AC: lucas and karen? idk mostly i guess  
AC: havent let us down yet  
CB: Then let them handle it.  
AC: …really?  
AC: ngl i kinda expected you to just say report the place and be done w it  
CB: Do you think Adrien doesn't talk to me? I know about Ross.  
CB: And I know about his thing with Ross. I don't know where that's going, but I know that Ross is a step too close to being a pokémon than a lot of people will be comfortable with. Not to mention he's a boy.  
CB: You need to take a stand about what's important, and I support that.  
CB: But not now. Adrien needs to be home with us. And no, I don't care that he says he's fine to stay in Shalour.  
AC: lol girl r u sure you dont just want adrien in reach so you can stop his thing with ross and keep him 4 urself  
CB: That's part of it.  
CB: But we've sat back long enough. We want our friends home.  
AC: i get that but we have an obligation here  
AC: its just a little longer  
CB: I don't get it. Why do you insist on worrying about this? It's beneath you.  
AC: its not just me  
AC: lucas and karen are super invested in the hideaway  
AC: its important to a lot of people  
CB: It's important to people who frequent a brothel.  
CB: Is that the kind of company you want to keep?  
AC: honestly? kinda  
AC: i prefer it over prickly noble types who cant hear the word sex without clutching their pearls  
AC: its less about that itself though and more about the defiance of it all  
AC: its such an impressive operation all set up right under peoples noses  
AC: and they do believe in their principles at least most of them  
AC: its kind of a shame to lose a place like that  
CB: I can't believe my friend is an anarchist.  
AC: am i too punk for you  
AC: too counterculture  
CB: Quite frankly, yes.  
CB: I understand sympathizing with them but you're taking it too far.  
AC: maybe  
AC: but again thats just my own reason  
AC: lucas and karen care about the place and we kinda started caring about them  
AC: some more than others but nonetheless  
CB: Adrien did mention them more than a few times.  
AC: they like to parent us  
AC: act like the Responsible Adults  
AC: let him have that for a while  
AC: yeah?  
CB: I suppose I can't argue with that.  
CB: Even if they are commoners, he needs someone to fill that role.  
CB: And that's not something he'd get here.  
AC: hoped u were past the whole "theyre commoners" thing but ok  
AC: obviously it cant last forever but he just lost his dad  
AC: and in a way i think he kinda feels like he just lost his mom too  
AC: i feel that way anyway  
AC: so i think its good for him to have those two trying to parent him for a while  
AC: he did seem to like it while we were searching for ross anyway  
AC: him jules and weirdly enough nino all seem pretty attached to them  
CB: Leaving Ross, Marinette, and you as the sane ones.  
CB: Or, comparatively sane in this specific instance.  
AC: lol i guess  
AC: even i wouldnt feel right leaving without addressing the hideaway tho  
CB: You do realize that completely reorganizing a company takes time, right?  
CB: I'll begrudgingly grant you staying for a while but at that rate you'd never come home.  
AC: we know  
AC: we wont stay in shalour for all of it  
AC: were just gonna go and observe the planning itll be up to them to get everything right in practice  
AC: then when we can  
AC: or i at least  
AC: ill come back and check on them sometime  
CB: And you're satisfied with that?  
AC: of course not but whats the other option  
AC: stay in shalour indefinitely  
AC: usurp the acting director of the hideaway and take power into my own hands  
AC: run the place under my iron fist  
AC: actually…  
CB: No.  
AC: joking  
AC: but girl were just about in shalour ill have to text u l8r  
CB: Don't do anything stupid.  
AC: would i do anything stupid  
CB: Yes.  
AC: thats fair l8r bee

Alya pocketed her phone and sat straighter in her seat, trying to get a better view out the windshield. "Well?" Marinette asked.

"Well she's not happy about it." Alya chuckled. "But I think she understands. More importantly," she leaned forward to address the people in the front seat, "are you guys ready for this?"

"As we'll ever be." Karen answered.

Alya looked down at the carpet flooring of the van and then shared a look with Juleka. _We could leave it. It's not like the Hideaway is completely broken._

 _Putting them though this is just another trial, but it's one we've made ourselves. We don't need to do it. We could turn around and forget about it. We could burn our membership cards, go back to Lumiose, and let those two go back to their lives._

 _We could, but we shouldn't. Not after all that's happened. I really do believe in the place. I think as far as regular guests go it really does work. But… the higher levels are all sorts of messed up. We can't ignore that. I'm not sure exactly how deep it runs but it's clear it needs a cleanse._

 _Still, I wish it didn't mean basically uprooting the basis of their lives here in Shalour._

She looked at Adrien, who returned her gaze, then shifted it to the front where the adults sat. "Hey." He said. "Are you… upset?"

"Upset?" Karen asked. She turned in her chair to look at him. "Why would I be upset? We won."

He shook his head. "Not about that. I meant about what we're going to do with the Hideaway."

Karen's expression was calculated. Warm, steady, devoid of anything that might alarm them. "Adrien, listen." She smiled. "Over the time we've been working together, you guys have earned a great deal of respect from us. Do you know why?" He shook his head. "Because you're so strong in what you believe in. And you even take it a step further and fight for it." She paused a moment. "With what we've discovered about the Hideaway, I wouldn't expect you to act any differently."

"Oh. Okay." Adrien nodded, but Alya had to hold back a frown. A look at Marinette told her that her friend caught the same thing.

 _She didn't answer the question, though. I guess I'd expect her to be upset to some extent. But she couldn't say that. Not to Adrien. And I think even though it's hard for her to do, it is something she knows is necessary._

 _Still, that was good of her. He shouldn't be thinking about that. Not now. If he knew how hard it was for them, he'd just feel bad, and we need to stand our ground._

 _But her… she'd make a good mom. I'm glad she's here. Lucas, too. I just hope we really can help make things better and don't end up just tearing it apart._

* * *

After everything they'd done to seek out and bring to justice unethical acts within the Hideaway, the director was more than pleased to answer their request for a meeting.

"Ah, Lucas!" She exclaimed when they entered the room. "It's so lovely to see you well." She took Lucas' face in her hands and grinned at him. "When I heard what you were getting into I was so very worried."

"Director…" Lucas said.

"And the famous heroes of Lumiose! In my very office! I would have never imagined I'd be seeing you all here, yet here you are!"

Alya cleared her throat. "Director." She said. "Excuse the bluntness, but I would rather get to business, if you don't mind. We have a lot to do and would like to get home soon."

"Of course! Please, sit. Tell me why you've asked to see me."

There wasn't quite enough seating in the small office for all of them. Marinette, Adrien, and Ross took the little sofa, and Nino the armchair. Lucas and Karen remained standing behind them, while Alya chose to perch herself on the arm of Nino's chair. "First I need to ask you something, Director."

"What can I do for you?"

"Did you know?"

"Did I… what exactly are you asking if I knew?"

Alya crossed her arms. "Talbot. The other platinum members we caught. The Muldooneys and Lailah."

The director blinked in surprise and frowned. "Of course not. I thought the Hideaway's position on those actions was clear."

"Oh, it is. But not yours." She narrowed her eyes, looking for a response from the director that would give away what she wanted to know. "I have no doubt that you didn't know, absolutely, beyond a reasonable doubt, precisely what your guests were doing. In fact, I even doubt you knew about Lailah. But did you truly know nothing about what was going down on the gold and platinum floors? Nothing at all?"

She felt Karen's hand on her shoulder, but Alya chose to continue staring down the director. "Alya, what do you mean?" Karen asked. "Why would you suspect that?"

"Madam Director." Alya said.

The director shook her head with a kind smile. "Please, call me Alice."

"You know why we're here." She continued. "You're aware of everything we've found while we were searching for our friends."

"Indeed. I helped arrange those guests' arrest."

"Naturally. On the way here we were discussing the best course of action. We knew something had to change, there was simply too much gone wrong here to ignore, but what exactly that change is was something we had to talk over."

"And your conclusion? Why would that make me suspect?"

"Our conclusion was total and complete transparency within the walls of the Hideaway. The silver level is beyond anything I would have expected. It works there, but somehow the upper levels are corrupt. Why is that?"

The director laced her fingers together. "You think it is because of the added privacy of the exclusive areas."

"They have much fewer people to hold them accountable. But personally, I think it's more than that. That's what leads me to you."

"Please, explain."

"Even with the membership areas, the Hideaway has rather exacting security. So, I'm forced to assume that either that kind of security is not in place for higher levels whatsoever, or there's a severe security flaw that allowed the trafficking of pokémon within this place.

"Talbot brought Ross here. Can you explain to me how he managed to get inside?" The director stayed silent, so Alya continued. "He's obviously exchanged pokémon here before, can you explain how something like that goes unnoticed?" Again, her question was met with silence. "So, Alice, let me tell you my working theory. I think you turn a blind eye to your paying customers. I don't necessarily believe that you do it willingly – these are people who hold the Hideaway's finances on a leash. If you look too hard into what they're doing, they could cut you off. And running a place like this costs money.

"I'm not condemning you. Not yet. But I need to know where we stand. Otherwise we'll never fix the problem. So, tell me, am I close?"

The director closed her eyes. "Yes." She said. "I didn't know what they were doing. If I had, I would have stopped it. But you're right. I didn't look close enough because I was afraid that without them, I would not be able to support this place."

"Alice!" Lucas exclaimed. "You can't be serious!"

"I'm sorry, Lucas."

"I don't believe you. That's exactly the kind of thing we fought against!"

"Lucas." Karen touched his shoulder to hold him back. "Not now." She looked to Alya, then to the director. "Thank you for being honest, Madam Director. We hope you agree with us that change is necessary for the future of the Hideaway."

The director bowed her head. "In truth, I've been considering this for a while. Ever since you all uncovered the Muldooneys." She stood and circled her desk, walked around the couch to Lucas. "I've failed this place. When I heard what the Muldooneys had done, I doubted, but when I heard about Talbot I knew for sure. I've failed."

"Alice?"

"I will not just change the Hideaway. I will hand it over."

"What?"

"Under my leadership, the Hideaway failed. The corruption went deeper than I could have imagined. You all brought that to light. I only makes sense for change to come under a new director."

Karen watched carefully. "So, you already knew."

"Of course, I did. No one who has seen what you all have could possibly endorse the Hideaway in it's current state. I think we made an admirable start, but it's time for me to step down. Let someone else finish what I've started. Would you all find that acceptable? Would you be willing to give a new director the chance to fix things?"

Alya scanned the eyes of her friends and answered for all of them. "Maybe. We'd like to."

"Would you trust Lucas in the position?"

"Wait, what? Me? You're joking, right?"

Alya shrugged. "I would."

Lucas protested. "No, I can't be director. I'm just an architect! I don't know anything about running a place like this! Isn't there a chain of command? Let the assistant director have the job. I never even wanted upgraded membership much less something like this."

"I know it's a lot to put on your shoulders, my old friend." The director smiled at him and grabbed his shoulders. "But there's no one I would trust more to right this place. You above everyone else would stay true to your convictions. Much more than me."

"She's right." Nino said. "One of the first things you said to me was a rant against corrupt government."

Alya snickered. _I knew he was a revolutionary, but that just makes me like him so much more._ "I agree." She said. "You could keep this place on track."

"It's not about that!" Lucas said. "I wouldn't sell out, yeah, but I don't know how to run something like this! I don't have any experience."

"You know a lot more about how the Hideaway works than most." Karen said with a sly smile. "I believe in you."

"And you wouldn't be alone." The director said. "If you'd have me, I would rather not simply disappear. I'd help, and the staff would as well."

Lucas ran a hand through his hair. "I… I don't know what to say."

"Just work on it." Alya said. "You take charge here, start fixing it. Let things go from there. If you're doing this, then I think I'd be okay heading home. What about you guys?"

"Absolutely." Adrien said. "I wouldn't be worried at all if it's you."

"Kids…" Lucas said. "Alright. I'll do my best." He shook his head. "I won't let you kids down."

"You haven't yet."

Something warm and loving appeared in Lucas' eyes. A pride. _He'll be fine. And he'll have Karen to watch over him, too._

"Oh!" The director said. "I nearly forgot. Adrien, I have something I believe belongs to you."

"To me?" He asked.

"It… may be a bit of a shock." She reached into her desk and pulled out a pokéball. "But this one was clearly one of Lailah's later experiments. As far as we can tell, they have retained their intelligence. And they at least seem to recognize your picture."

"No." He said. "It couldn't…" He leapt from the sofa to take the pokéball from her. "Thank you. Thank you so much. Where were they?"

"As we conducted our own investigation into Lailah, we found them in a storage room, along with several other more recent experiments. We suspect they were slated to be given away or sold but she was interrupted before she got the chance. I apologize for not giving them to you earlier, but with the fusions it was difficult to identify every pokémon, and then we had to determine what they themselves wanted."

"I…" He cradled the pokéball close to his chest. "Who was she fused with?"

"A host who used the name Ricken. A Raichu."

"I see." He didn't appear capable of tearing his eyes from the pokéball. "Thank you. I never thought I'd see her – them."

 _Allie. We had assumed she was fused, but… I guess I'm glad we at least have an answer. I suppose they'll need a new name. If Ross isn't Josh or Rocco anymore, they're probably not Allie._

"Of course."

Karen put her hand on Adrien's shoulder but addressed Lucas. "So, you're ready to take over this place?"

"I wouldn't say ready, but if everyone's relying on me, I can't exactly just give up."

"That's the way. Thank you, Director, I think this went better than most of us were hoping for."

"I'm not your director anymore, Karen. Not truly. Alice is fine." She looked over them all. "What will you do from here?"

Marinette smiled at Adrien and answered her. "We're going to go home. With Lucas here, we can trust that this place will be looked after. That just leaves getting everything back in order. Trying to catch back up with our lives. There's still a lot to sort out."

"Yeah." Adrien said. "We still have a whole list of loose ends to tie up." Alya couldn't resist snickering.

* * *

"Adrien." Karen said, as they exited the Hideaway. "I can't believe it just occurred to me, but when you go back to Lumiose, where will you live?"

He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I guess I'll go home. There'll be a lot of stuff to arrange but I'll figure it out." He shrugged. "Or maybe I should just get an apartment. Start living on my own. Don't really know, yet."

"Can you afford that?"

"Yeah, Dad already gave me access to the fortune, so that's not a problem, and if I can get my agent to forgive me, I'll hopefully have a job. If nothing else, I do make some money from my performances online. It's not a lot, but it's enough and the fortune will cover the rest until I can get a better source of income."

Karen and Lucas shared a look. "I know you want to go back to Lumiose." Karen said. "But just know you can live with us if you need to."

Adrien chuckled. "I appreciate that, but no. I'll be fine."

Karen smiled. "Okay. And… about your mother. Did you have anything specific in mind? I'll help arrange her funeral but it's all up to you, ultimately."

"I'll… I'll think about it. Is that alright?"

"Of course."

Lucas frowned. "So, what else are y'all going to get up to?"

Alya laughed. "Well that wrapped up quite a few loose ends, actually. Now we just need to deal with Ross, get our schooling back in order, and figure out where the Mega Stones came from."

Marinette shook her head. "That's mostly just out of curiosity. We are _not_ getting into another whole adventure because of it."

"Aw, but Mari wasn't this so much fun?"

"No."

Alya cackled.

Ross tapped her shoulder. "What about me?" He signed.

Alya stifled her laughter to answer. "Well, first of all, does that bother you?" She gestured casually to the family across the street that was staring at him. "The ears kind of stand out."

"Nah." He signed. "And I can hide it if it does. See?"

In a moment, his ears returned to normal human appearance. "Illusion." Alya said. "Good. Well, either way, if it does ever bother you, just know that our places are safehouses for you. You're always welcome, got it?"

"Thanks."

"Otherwise, there's clothes."

Marinette intervened there. "Once we're back home I can alter some of Josh's old clothes for you. It should be simple to let you have your tail out. After that, just talk to me if you need new pants. I won't even charge you extra." She said with a wink.

"The benefits of being friends with a fashion designer." Ross signed. "Thanks, Marinette."

Alya nodded. "And then, of course, there's your home and school. I assume you'll live with your dad? And Josh was homeschooled, so I guess there's no problem if you pick up from there."

"I'd rather go to school with you guys, but it works for now."

"Alright then. It sounds like we've got it together."

Juleka giggled. "A rare moment indeed."

Nino laughed along with her. "Yeah. Mark your calendars, everyone."

Karen and Lucas shook their heads. "I'm going to miss you guys." Lucas said.

"I'll miss you, too." Nino said.

"We all will." Added Adrien.

"When's your train?" Karen asked.

Alya checked her phone's clock. "About five hours. We've still got time."

Lucas bit his lip. "Have you guys put any more thought into what I asked? Back before we left to catch Gabriel. About joining the movement. Especially you two." He smiled at Alya and Ross. "You could change everything."

Alya looked to Ross to see his response first. "No." He signed. "I honestly forgot you asked." With a chuckle, he added, "I don't really care, but I'll cooperate. If you want to interview me for my unique perspective as a fusion or whatever I'm not going to say no." Alya smiled and translated for him. "I'm not going in the streets to protest, though."

Alya couldn't resist chuckling. "You realize if you cooperate with us that much you're going to become a big figure whether you like it or not."

He shrugged. "Again, I don't really care."

"Pfft. Well, for my part, I'll do that." She looked at Lucas. "I'll interview Ross later. That should shake things up. And if you ever need something, just ask. I do believe the Hideaway will be best when it's not in hiding. Ironically."

"Hah." Lucas grinned. "Thanks."

Adrien threw his hands up in a shrug. "And I guess I can't avoid getting involved. Not with Ross. Moment he says he's a pokémon on camera, I'm with you by default."

"Which will shake things up even more." Alya said. "I hope you're ready, Lucas."

"I was born ready. Looking forward to it."

Marinette hummed and looked to Nino and Juleka. "If you ever need the voice of Ladybug, I'm here, but otherwise I think I'd prefer to actually get some peace for a while."

Alya nodded. "Well, we'll get to work on that once we get everything settled at home. I'll be keeping in touch. The Hideaway is the largest group I've seen for that community, so knowing what they're thinking would help."

"Naturally." Lucas said. "I hope you all keep in touch anyway."

"In the meantime." Karen said. "What are you guys going to do in your last hours in Shalour?"

Alya had an idea. And a look with Marinette told her that they were thinking the same thing as they so often were. "The Tower of Mastery." Marinette said.

Karen just shook her head. "Of course."

* * *

Their brief visit to the Tower of Mastery wasn't entirely pointless. They were lucky the tide was low at the time, so they could get out to it, and the old man who greeted them was kind and informative, but in the end, they didn't really learn too much about mega evolution. Everything they heard were things they had already figured out.

The old man smiled knowingly at Marinette and Adrien. "Mega evolution is a precious thing." He told them. "It strengthens our connection to our pokémon and allows you to fight as one. But I hardly need to be telling you that, do I?"

Adrien chuckled. "I actually disagree. It doesn't strengthen our connection with our pokémon. It only works because the connection is already there."

"Oho, is that so?" The old man seemed delighted by Adrien's observation. "And what is mega evolution to you, young man?"

"To me?" He looked at his Key Stone thoughtfully. "To me, it's just a tool. Everything else comes from me and from Plagg. All it does is give us the means to fight beyond our limits. To protect people we otherwise couldn't have. That's all."

"And you?" He looked at Marinette.

She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "It's a responsibility. Adrien's right, it gives us the means to fight beyond our limits. It creates a new limit, and with that comes a new responsibility. Mega evolution lets us do things other people can't. That's something we can't take lightly." She sighed. "But as far as the connection? I think I'm on Adrien's side here. It's not important to how we feel about our pokémon, or how they feel about us."

The old man nodded sagely. "You two really have become exemplary mega evolution trainers. Your master must be proud."

"Our master?" Marinette asked, arching her brow. "We don't even know where the stones came from."

The old man just laughed and continued the tour.

They learned nothing more from him, or from their tour of the tower, only a cryptic mention of some master none of them had ever heard of. Still, it was a lead, and a lead promised a path and Alya was eager to walk it.

Soon enough, though, they were at the train station, hugging Karen and Lucas goodbye. And then they were in Lumiose, in a huge pile when all their classmates jumped them.

"Adrien! You're finally back!"

"Woah, Ross. I'd heard, but damn."

"I'm so glad you guys are okay. That must have been scary."

All manner of comments came from all directions as they were hugged until they were threatened with suffocation. Alya just laughed through it all, happy to finally see the rest of the crew once more.

Juleka and Rose kissed, a frantic, we've-been-apart-for-six-months kiss. Ross grinned and turned Adrien around to kiss him as well, a soft, congratulatory, relieved kiss. Alya shook her head when the rest of the class burst into a cacophony of reactions to it.

She leaned in closer to Nino. "Now I feel like we need someone to kiss, too."

Nino shook his head. "Pfft. Gross."

Once the kids had all calmed down, it was the adult's turn. Marinette's folks came in to hold her close, and Alya's parents did the same, the little twins pulling on her hands and begging her to tell them all about her adventure. _So much of that story is so inappropriate for you girls._

Juleka's mother and brother were there, too, welcoming her back, as well as Rose's family. Arthur Keaton took Ross and Adrien both into his arms. Nino's dad flicked his cap playfully before giving him a real hug.

Alya smiled. It wasn't the end of their story by a long shot. They were too young and too _them_ for it to be. But it was the end of that chapter, and she was satisfied. _We're home._ She thought. _It's good to be back._


	22. Home

Ross laid in bed in a room that didn't smell like him in an apartment that felt like someone else's. He stared at the ceiling and sighed. _It is over, right?_ When he closed his eyes, he was unwillingly transported elsewhere, to a dingy place in Shalour, or an extensive underground facility, both used for the same purpose. Unfamiliar scents clinging to the sheets. Feet shuffling nearby. The bustle of a real city of people who had no clue what was happening just on the other side of the wall.

 _This is home now, I guess._ There was a lazy ceiling fan that made its rounds and Ross allowed himself to be mesmerized by it for a while. _The others really do consider this home._ He glanced to Manectric, curled up comfortably on a plush pokémon bed next to Ross' own. _Which makes sense. It actually was their home before we left._

He heard footsteps and shuffling outside the door before it opened. Ross flinched. The bed shifted. Lucario sat attentive, close enough for their legs to touch even though he was focused on the doorway.

"Jo-" Arthur Keaton cleared his throat. "Ross? I just came to check on you before bed. You need anything?"

He sat up and shook his head. His skin crawled. It didn't sit right, though he wasn't totally sure what exactly _it_ was.

"Hmm, well, let me know if you do." Arthur seemed hesitant to close the door. After a long and awkward pause, he said, "I'm so happy you're back."

The door clicked shut, and Ross sighed. _I wish I could echo the sentiment._ With a small huff, he rose completely and went to the window and looked out at the glittering city of light.

The view was familiar but taboo. He knew it intimately from the time Joshua had spent there, but as Ross it felt inappropriate in a way few other things did. He didn't like it at all, but the alternative was the room and that was worse.

Lucario touched his arm gently. "Are you alright?"

Ross chuckled weakly. "You know what's weird?" He asked.

"What?"

"When we fought the aerodactyl, I wasn't scared at all. When we found Gabriel, I couldn't care less – except through proxy with Adrien, of course. I wasn't even really scared when I was with Talbot. Not for the most part. But… this room terrifies me."

"Why? I think it's wonderful."

Ross shook his head. "I know. That's why you should stay." He started to fiddle with the latch on the window. "Don't worry, I'll be back. I just need to go out for a while."

"It's the middle of the night!" Lucario exclaimed. "Aren't you tired? After all we just did?"

Ross opened the window fully and stuck his head out, seeing the fire escape he could use to get down. "Yeah." He admitted. "Just trust me."

"I do." Lucario said. "But I'm not letting you go around alone. I'm not ever leaving you alone. I'm coming, too."

Ross climbed out onto the fire escape and helped Lucario through the window as well. _I couldn't ask for anything more._ "Hey, can you tell if someone's sleeping? From a distance, I mean. From their aura."

Lucario tilted his head quizzically. "Usually. Why?"

"Just giving us some direction." He knew where his friends lived, though they were admittedly scattered all across the central city. _I can't stop by them all in one night, but if Lucario is up for it, I can at least check on a few._

Lucario frowned. "Oh, I see. But you need sleep, too."

Ross shook his head. "Maybe later. Tonight… I wouldn't sleep much, anyway. You can still go back up if you want to get some sleep yourself."

Lucario vehemently shook his head. "No way! I'm with you."

He fought off a small smile. "It's your decision." And then he turned towards Hibernal Avenue.

They walked together in the quiet, balmy summer air for a while until Lucario broke the silence. "So, you never answered me. Why is home scary?"

Ross bit his lip. He didn't look over at his companion, and instead trained his eyes ahead of them. "I…" He started, then sighed. "I kind of told you, before. Back before Geosenge Town. I feel like…" He shook his head. "It's stupid."

"What is?"

"Just that… I feel like an imposter." Ross ran his hand through his hair. "It's not even just that room, it's everything. Josh's pokémon, Josh's crush, even. Josh's family. Rocco's friends. None of it is really mine, they're just remnants of the people who were fused. It was one thing when we were in Shalour, but I can't just come to Josh's home and live Josh's life."

Lucario mumbled when he spoke. "It's not stupid." But, louder, he said, "So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know, yet."

Another long silence. "That's why we're out here, then, right? Because you don't want to be in that apartment?"

Ross worried his lip and nodded.

"…Okay." Ross looked up at Lucario and followed his gaze to the apartment building they were approaching. "This is Juleka's place, right? Which room is it?" They ventured together into the complex and found the correct apartment and, standing outside the door, Lucario furrowed his brow but neither of them made any move to knock. "I don't think anyone is here."

"No?"

"No. This one is empty. I'm pretty sure."

"Hmm."

"What does that mean?"

 _Juleka lives here, but if I remember right, her family doesn't. She might be spending the night with them. Actually, I'd expect her to._ "Either she's out like we are," he said, "or she's with her family."

"Where do they live?"

"A houseboat on the river."

"A _boat_? Can we go?" Lucario bounced cutely at the thought. "Please? Let's find their boat!"

Ross chuckled and put his hand on Lucario's head. "We'll look for them. But Marinette and Adrien live between here and there. Want to check on them on the way?"

"Definitely!"

Leaving Juleka's apartment behind, the duo made their way through the alleys and back streets to Jaune Plaza, and the nearby bakery that Marinette lived in. Ross closed his eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose. "I thought Marinette's parents smelled good when they met us at the station." He said, earning a yip of agreement from Lucario. "But Mew, that's mouthwatering."

"Do you think they'll let us try something?" Lucario asked.

Ross shook his head and laughed. "If we come by during the day, absolutely. Can you tell if Marinette is here?"

Lucario focused on the building. "Pretty sure. She doesn't have a sibling, does she? There's definitely three people in there."

"Can you not distinguish between individuals without seeing them?"

"If I know them well enough. I'm fairly certain which one is Marinette, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of being mistaken from this distance."

"Huh. Makes sense. Is she asleep?"

"I don't thin- oh. No."

"What was that?"

"She's coming out. Well, up there." Lucario pointed to the balcony. "Are we going to talk to her?"

"Should we?"

Marinette approached the end of the balcony anyway but didn't notice Ross and Lucario below her. They weren't exactly obvious, since both of them were darkly colored and they were off to the side since they approached from a dirty alley, so Ross assumed that without any prompting she probably wouldn't see them at all.

"Marinette?" A cool, sturdy voice – quiet enough that if Ross hadn't had pokémon ears he would never have heard it clearly enough to understand. "Are you alright?"

Ross realized that the speaker was himself a pokémon. Bisharp, as was evident when Bisharp joined her at the railing. Yet Marinette didn't seem to have any trouble interpreting him. _How long have those two been together?_ "Just can't sleep." Marinette said. "You don't need to worry."

"Getting no sleep is a reason to worry, you know." The blithe tone of the response made Ross share a look with Lucario.

"I know; you don't need to say it." Marinette said. "But it's not _my_ fault. I just couldn't sleep." She sighed loudly. "I'm just glad I didn't wake up Ralts."

"Ralts has gotten a lot stronger."

"You're right. I probably don't need to worry so much about him anymore. But he'll always be the baby, you know?"

Bisharp laughed. "Yeah. Why couldn't you sleep?"

Another sigh from Marinette. "I just keep thinking."

"About Adrien?"

"About everything. I'm still having a hard time believing it's over. _Everything_ is over. We don't need mega evolution anymore, or I hope so, at least. Adrien has Ross, so that's over for me, too. I thought Ladybug was gone back when I got hurt but this really is the end and I'm not sure what to do." Marinette hummed a little, quietly. "What do heroes do when the world doesn't need them anymore?"

"You live, of course." Ross closed his eyes, shutting out Lucario's concerned reactions to focus on the conversation. "And as long as you live, every ending starts something new, too."

Ross heard Marinette let out a single quiet burst of a laugh. "I guess you're right. With Adrien, at least, it's a start of a new kind of relationship. I think I can be content with that." _You can?_ "With everything else, though… it feels more like an interruption."

"Well, the interruption is over now."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure I know anymore how to live like I did before it."

Ross opened his eyes. Lucario was looking at him, wide-eyed and concerned, and Ross just shook his head. _No, her experience is nothing like mine. I can't understand what she means at all. Being created in the middle of this adventure means there is no before to go back to, even if I could. Certainly not Josh's before, and not Rocco's either._

"Then clearly it wasn't an interruption," Bisharp said, "so much as another chapter entirely. Your life wasn't put on hold if it's not the same afterwards, so stop trying to pretend like it was."

Marinette was, for a while, as quiet as Ross. _I suppose that applies to me, too. Even if it's the same setting, it's not the same as it was. We have an entirely new chapter in our story ahead of us, whether it's as dramatic as our last or not._ Eventually, Marinette echoed Ross' thoughts, and he thought he was satisfied.

He gestured to Lucario, letting him know that he intended on leaving, and the two continued on their way, retreating back into the alleys and circumventing Jaune Plaza for a while until they were free from the danger of being spotted. "You don't want to talk to her?" Lucario asked.

Ross smiled and shook his head. "She's got someone better to talk to. And I'm sure she'll be okay. Let's just go check on Adrien instead, alright? He lives right next to the river, so we can head from there to Juleka."

Lucario brightened at the mention of Juleka. "If you're sure!" He said. "I hope she's there. I really want to go on a boat."

"Have you never been on a boat before?"

"Once." Lucario admitted sheepishly. "But I was in a pokéball for most of it."

It occurred to Ross, then, that he didn't know much about Lucario's life before Talbot. _He mentioned a trainer once, but I don't know what might have happened to them. Why were they separated and how long ago was that? I don't even know how long he was really with Talbot. I was able to catch him so either his trainer is gone, or they'd given up on ever seeing him again._

 _It's none of my business, though. If he wants to share, he will. For now, I'll just do what I can for him._

Their next stop, Adrien's house, was much less eventful than their previous one. They approached the large building from the back and here Ross knew perfectly well where Adrien would be. There were no other people in the massive place, so there was no mistaking it either way, but it was a very quick check for Lucario to look up at the large windows and confirm that Adrien was sound asleep. _Good. He deserves it. I hope you sleep all through the night, love. We both know enough of night terrors. Tonight, at least, just sleep._

And with that thought lingering in his head, Ross smiled and pulled Lucario away with the promise that when they visited later, during daylight hours, he could explore the extravagant mansion. _It's really cute how excited he is about it. Boats and big houses… I suppose it's been a long time since he's been able to enjoy something simple like that. I better make sure to help him experience everything he can._

 _I do hope Adrien is okay in that big house alone, though. It may be novel to someone like Lucario, but to him it must feel so cold._

Ross shook his head. "Come on." He said, "Let's follow the river. Juleka's family should be nearby."

Lucario nodded, not questioning him. Truthfully, he didn't have any reason to think Juleka would be near. She could be anywhere along the river. But his gut told him she wouldn't be far from Adrien just yet, especially as – aside from her small family of course, which she was technically imposing on as she had her own apartment – those two were the only ones living alone.

And Ross' gut was right, and the Couffaine houseboat was just down the street, no more than a fifteen-minute walk away from Adrien's house. They passed Chloé's hotel along the way, calling thoughts to Ross' mind about Joshua's little rivalry with her – both of them were perfectly aware of the other's crush on Adrien – and wondered at what she really thought of his tentative relationship with Adrien. They hadn't yet had time to talk about it since Gabriel was beaten – to further it or to take a step back, but Ross was hopeful and optimistic that Adrien wouldn't push him away no matter what happened. _And she must be jealous, at least a little. I'm sure she'd heard about it before we came back but… she's not as mature as Marinette. Or she wasn't. I may not be giving her enough credit. She did fight with the others when it came down to it._

The excited chanting of "boat, boat, boat" when Lucario caught sight of the Couffaine houseboat brought Ross out of his thoughts. He couldn't help but grin at him. "Anyone there?" He asked.

Lucario stilled long enough to focus. "Three people. One's on deck, I think, so they must be awake."

"Juleka?"

"No clue! Let's get closer!" Lucario didn't leave Ross any choice in the matter when he grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along the river to where the houseboat was moored. Not that he minded. Lucario's excitement was infectious and adorable and Ross was more than willing to play along.

They hadn't even reached the boat before someone had leaned on the railing of the boat, looking out at the city street Ross and Lucario were heading down. Ross recognized him from their homecoming, a young man, no more than a few years older than Juleka, who resembled her in more than just genetics. Ross smiled at the dyed hair and the edgy clothes – though Ross couldn't help but chuckle a little at the oversized band t-shirt that must have been his pajamas.

He had no clue what the man's name was, though. Wasn't even sure if he'd ever heard it. But unlike with Marinette, there was no avoiding catching his eye. Mostly because Lucario was still bouncing down the street howling about a real live boat.

The boy on the boat smiled at him. "Hey." He said. His voice was gentle and warm, just like Juleka's. That similarity, along with the visual ones, endeared Ross to him, and Ross smiled back. The man hesitated for a moment, then raised his hands to sign as he talked. "Ross, right? You're Juleka's friend."

Ross chuckled and signed in response. "Hard to mistake for anyone else." The clear, ringing laugh that pulled out of the man only drew further similarities between him and Juleka. Even that was gentle and kind. "You're Juleka's brother?"

"Mhmm. Luka. It's nice to meet you."

"You too."

Lucario was still bouncing, leaning over the river wall to look closer at the boat. Luka laughed at the sight. "What brought you all the way out here?"

Ross smiled a little less smoothly than he meant to. "Just showing Lucario around town."

"In the middle of the night?"

"What better time?"

Luka laughed again. He looked over to Lucario. "Is he alright?"

"He's never been on a boat before. Kind of excited."

"Do you two want to come aboard?"

Lucario gasped, too amazed to speak loudly when he said. "Yes, please."

Ross chuckled and asked Luka if it was really okay. "Of course." Luka said. "Any friend of my sister's is always welcome here. Even at ridiculous hours."

Lucario hopped on his toes at the edge of the plank and looked to Ross for permission. "Go on." Ross said verbally. Lucario didn't wait to be told twice, and he was already giggling at the helm before Ross had managed to step foot on deck. Though, as Ross had hesitated a little too long because he had to fight past every alarm his mind was screaming about this man he didn't know, it wasn't altogether that surprising.

"He's cute." Luka observed, watching Lucario. _Yeah, he is._ Lucario being there was what ultimately drew Ross past his wariness. Even if something did go wrong, if Luka ended up showing once more the cruelty of humans that Ross knew too well, it was better he was there than he left Lucario alone. "Ross… can I, uh…" When Ross looked back at Luka, Luka was watching the deck rather than him. "I know it might be hard for you to talk about, but I really want to know what happened while you all were gone."

Ross bit his lip. "I don't mind." He signed, though Luka didn't look up, so Ross wasn't sure if he actually saw.

"It's just…" Luka continued. "Juleka's staying here tonight, and even then, she only just fell asleep. I want to be able to help her."

Ross sighed. He waited until Luka looked up at him, rather than waving to him for his attention, and once he got it he signed slowly and carefully. "How can I help?"

"I just thought that maybe if I understood better what happened, I might be able to support her better."

"I'm not sure." Ross worried his lip and hummed. "And I'm probably not the best to ask, since most of their time in Shalour was looking for me. But I'll tell you whatever I can, if it'll help Juleka."

"Do you know what keeps her up?"

"No." Ross signed honestly. "I have a few guesses but that's not something she's shared with me."

Luka hummed for a moment then furrowed his brow. "Are all of you having trouble sleeping? Is that why you're out at this time?"

"I can't say" Ross took a moment to run a hand through his hair and consider his next statement. "Most of us have the problem, at least. I wouldn't say that trouble sleeping is why I'm outside, but it didn't help. I thought the others would do better now that we're back, though I haven't had the chance to check. Adrien's sleeping. Marinette wasn't, but I'm not overly worried about her."

Luka chuckled. "Have you just been going around to everyone's places to see if they're awake?"

"Yep."

Luka stared at him for a moment. "Oh."

Ross shrugged. "I was really just checking on Adrien. All alone in that huge house, just after his father was arrested, not to mention everything with his mom." He sighed. "But Marinette and Juleka's places were on the way, and once we saw that Juleka wasn't home and I mentioned this boat Lucario was too excited for me to say no."

Luka shifted his gaze to Lucario and Ross smiled at how it softened. "You got him while you were in Shalour, right?"

"I met him while we were both Talbot's captives." Ross thought for a moment, then signed, "Thanks for letting him run around here."

"It's not a problem." Luka waved his hand nonchalantly before hesitating and continuing to sign along with his words. "I'm glad he's having fun."

"Yeah. Me too. He deserves it."

Luka worried his lip for a moment. "I heard about what Talbot did." Ross only inclined his head in answer. "Lucario was in the same position?"

"Oh, yeah. Except for a few… bouts of anger," Ross flinched a little, still feeling the stinging of his back (Recent events weren't kind to it, but thankfully that kind of activity was over with), "I didn't go through anything Lucario hadn't. In fact, Lucario made himself a target, trying to spare myself and other pokémon down there by taking all of Talbot's attention."

"He didn't…" Luka's weak breath was interrupted by his own hand covering his mouth. Ross nodded.

"But that's enough about us." Ross smiled and shook his head. "The point is, wherever he gets some enjoyment, I'm glad for it."

Luka nodded. "Yeah. And he's welcome here anytime. I'm sure Mom'll let him play pirate if he wants to, too."

Ross snickered and eyed Lucario, still eagerly examining all the little novelties that the boat offered. "I'm sure he'd love that." Another sigh. "How did you get Juleka to sleep?"

"I sang to her." Luka said. "Just a little lullaby." _I'll have to keep that in mind, though I can't exactly sing by human standards. I wonder if there's any equivalent. I know for a fact I can't use the move Sing – even if I had that kind of power, Zoroark can't learn it so it wouldn't make any sense for me to._ "You were having trouble sleeping too, right? Would you like me to sing?"

Ross shook his head. "No, thank you." He signed. "Not right now."

"Maybe another time." Luka said. "Any way I can help."

"Speaking of – we got off the topic of Juleka."

"Oh, right. You said you had guesses."

"I do, but I don't know how you would help her with them."

"What are they?"

"It might be the same as it's always been. You know, the near-death experiences and all that. We had a run-in with a mega aerodactyl that was pretty frightening."

"What happened?"

"We took it down fairly swiftly, but before we had the chance it Hyper Beamed us."

Luka physically took a step back. "Hyper Beam?"

Ross nodded. "All our pokémon together using Protect only barely stopped it. If Aerodactyl had sustained it longer or was just a little stronger, we'd all be dead."

"Holy shit."

Ross shrugged. "That's option one. There's also the Reflection Cave business."

Luka shook off the stupor of the first option and inquired as to what Ross was talking about. "She mentioned there was a mega when you passed through there, but I didn't know it was any different than any other."

 _If she never said anything after all this time… it's probably not my business to share it. We never did talk about it. Or, I didn't. They might've while I was imprisoned._ After a moment, he signed, "It was a mega alakazam. Really, the only thing it did was set up a Trick Room. It made us experience the things we feared."

"And… Juleka?"

Ross smiled. "If she hasn't told you, then I can't either. I'll tell you that when Josh went through there, he was excluded. He felt like since he was a newcomer to the group, no one really liked him as much as the others and he ended up being abandoned by them – both things he was terrified of. That should give you an idea. I'm kind of lucky from that experience. I'm not Josh anymore, and I don't really fear the same things. So, it doesn't bother me too much. The others… I can't say. Never really talked to them about it. Haven't even had the opportunity." He shrugged. "But that's the summary, anyway. Each of them faced a similar challenge in the Trick Room. I can easily see that haunting them."

Luka nodded solemnly. "I think I might have an idea of what she went through."

"Good." Ross signed. "Past that, there might be what Mightyena and her did."

"There's _more_? What did she do?"

Ross actually chuckled a little. "Oh, that's not all. I still have one more after this." Luka furrowed his brow and frowned. "Though, actually, you might understand better if I say that one first."

"Okay." Luka nodded firmly. "Tell me, please."

"Now, both of these happened while I was recovering from the fusion, so I didn't actually see them." He clarified. "But I know she saw what remained after Lailah fused me."

"What remained?"

"Like, actual remains. Josh's body became the host for the fusion – me – and so Rocco's body was just dead. She saw it." Luka covered his mouth again. "I can't say what it looked like, since no one will show me a picture, but as I understand it, it was desiccated and kind of weathered? But you don't want me to describe the bones of one of your sisters' friends."

"Wait. No one will show you a picture of it? You _want_ to see it?"

He shrugged. "Rocco was one of the models for me, too. Honestly, though, it was probably smart of them not to show me. I was already pissed at Lailah for killing me. That might've made me do something stupid."

Luka pursed his lips and shifted on his feet. "How are so casual about it?"

"I have a strange relationship with Rocco. Honestly, seeing his bones, or knowing they're there at least, mostly just validates me as an individual person. I'm constantly fighting the 'he's a mix' thing. But I've said all along, Rocco and Josh both are dead. I'm someone else who just happened to be made from them. Whether I resemble them or not."

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess."

Ross nodded. "So, that's one thing. I can't imagine seeing that was easy for her. But the other thing, what she did, was later, when they all captured Lailah and found Adrien."

"What did she do?"

Ross laughed. "She got pissed. Truth be told, I'm kind of proud of her. But she's a gentle person, so I can see what she did bothering her in hindsight." He tapped his foot for a moment, trying to think of how to phrase it. "Mightyena evolved, and she had him attack Gabriel directly."

"What?! Juleka wouldn't-"

Ross grabbed Luka's hands to stop him, and he trailed off verbally just like Adrien always did. "I'm just telling you how I heard it." He signed when he released Luka's hands. "But I believe the consensus from everyone who was there." Luka shook his head in disbelief. Ross waited until he was watching again so he could sign, "Gabriel's lurantis protected him, of course. Juleka knew it would. And Mightyena…" Ross just chuckled a little awkwardly and used his hand to mime the thrashing jaws throwing Lurantis around. "Grr." He growled gently to emphasize his point.

Luka covered his face. "I had no idea…"

"This whole adventure wasn't easy for anyone." Ross signed. "But those are the things I know of that might hurt Juleka in particular. It could be one or all of them, I don't know. Just make sure you help her out, alright?"

"Yes, of course. I'll do everything I can for her."

"You better." Ross looked once more to Lucario. _It's probably about time we head back. He, at least, needs sleep._ "We should get going." He signed for Luka. Then, he called verbally. "Lucario! Come on. We can come back another time."

"Okay!" Lucario said happily.

"Wait." Luka's protest was accompanied by an unexpected hand on Ross' arm that sent a jolt through him. He jumped, wrenching away from Luka. "Sorry. I'm so sorry." Luka said, wide-eyed. "I shouldn't have… I'm sorry. Just… you're alone, aren't you?"

Ross exchanged a look with Lucario, who asked, "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Ross growled. "He just surprised me." To Luka, with his hands so that he could understand, Ross said, "No. I have Lucario." After a moment, thinking about the situation, he tacked on, "And Arthur."

"But," Luka said, "you left home for a reason."

Ross chuckled bitterly. "Home?" He signed. "Josh's home."

The sadness in Luka's eyes pinned Ross uncomfortably to the spot. "If you want," Luka said carefully, "you can stay here tonight. It's already really late, it'd be practically morning by the time you got back, wouldn't it? I can sing and help you sleep. And you'll be with Juleka."

Ross furrowed his brow. "Why?"

Luka shuffled a little. "I don't want to leave you all alone, that's all. I know I don't really know you, but you're Juleka's friend. And I want all of you to be okay." He smiled. "I wasn't there during the attacks or your recovery mission, but I can do this for you guys."

Ross was about to tell him no straight out, but Lucario smiled and asked him if they could stay and when Ross looked into Lucario's eyes and saw how much fun he had on the boat he just couldn't take him away just yet. "Okay." He eventually signed, echoing it verbally for Lucario. "We can stay just for tonight."

Lucario cheered and Luka smiled and Ross crossed his arms as they were led into the boat proper and given an area to camp out and with the promise of exploring the inside of the boat in the morning, Ross and Lucario settled down to sleep.

Only a few minutes later, Ross heard the door open and shut and Luka sat next to him with a guitar and he played a quiet tune and sang with that gentle and calming voice just close enough to Juleka's to be familiar and despite himself Ross really was lulled to sleep.

* * *

When Ross awoke and saw Adrien he was pleasantly surprised, but the sentiment that tried to announce itself through the purring rumble in his throat died away when he noticed just how perturbed Adrien looked. He sat up, tilting his head to subtly ask Adrien what was up.

Adrien scowled and crossed his arms. "What were you thinking?" He asked. Ross flinched back. "Arceus, did you not think at _all_?"

Ross raised his hands to sign. "What are you talking about?"

"You _ran away_!" Adrien said. "Do you have any idea how worried we all were? Until we texted Juleka, we had no clue where you'd gone!"

Ross furrowed his brow. "Did it really take that long before you texted Juleka?"

"That's not the point, Ross!" Adrien gasped. "You scared us. Your dad was about to have a heart attack. _I_ was about to."

"To be fair," Ross retorted. "I was invited."

"Luka didn't know you hadn't told anyone you left. Because, you know, most people would _tell someone_ when they go out in the middle of the night."

"Would they?"

Adrien threw his hands up in exasperation. "Do you even care?! All of us were terrified that something happened to you! Can you just try to _pretend_ you give a shit?!"

Ross sighed and clambered to his feet. In truth, he didn't really care. Not much. For everyone except Adrien, he could live with his oversight (And it _was_ an oversight. He'd meant to go back before Arthur noticed, and had simply forgotten to send a message before he fell asleep.). But he couldn't stand seeing Adrien that broken up about it, on the verge of tears because of him.

He approached, then reached out and took Adrien's shoulders in his hands. He gently rubbed them for a moment before stepping even closer and wrapping his arms around Adrien completely. "I'm sorry." He murmured, knowing Adrien wouldn't understand him. "I didn't mean to scare you."

When Ross slackened his hold so that he could back up and tell Adrien in a way he'd understand, he found himself trapped. Adrien had a vice grip on him and wasn't showing any intention of letting go.

Juleka appeared in the doorway. Ross looked at her over Adrien's shoulder, but she just shook her head and sighed. "You _are_ always welcome," She said with a hint of humor in her voice. "But next time, tell your dad when you leave. Please?"

Hands occupied with Adrien, Ross could only nod to answer her.

Alya popped out from behind Juleka, joining them in the room. "Why'd you leave, anyway?" Adrien let go of him when he heard Alya's question and looked at him for an answer. Ross shared a look with Lucario, who had been sitting quietly out of the way, and focused on Adrien when he told them.

Adrien seemed concerned, Juleka contemplative, and Alya just nodded her head. "Yeah, that makes sense." She said casually. "If you don't want to live with Arthur, you could think about getting your own place. Have you thought about your job?"

"Can't exactly model." He signed. "And even if I could, that's just another Josh thing I'd be taking."

Adrien waved for his attention. "You could stay with me."

Juleka scoffed. "Then who's going to tell you to keep the doors open?"

"Juleka! I wouldn't- he was- that's just inappropriate."

Alya snickered. Juleka shook her head. "You can stay here if you don't want to stay there. Mom already said it's okay. And anyway, Adrien, have you even decided to stay in your place?"

He blushed and rubbed his neck. "Well, no…"

"Exactly. I need to go talk to my landlord too." She worried her lip. "Since us three are the ones all alone, want to get an apartment together?"

"Can we do that?" Adrien asked.

"Well, we can." Juleka answered. "I don't know how old Ross technically is with zoroark age shenanigans, but since he's legally Josh at the moment he should be able to, as well."

Alya tapped her chin. "Actually, Ross, how does that work?"

Ross had to think about it for a moment. "To be sure would require machinery that I don't have, but… Rocco was, by years, younger than you guys." He paused. "The physical aging process is weird but as Josh was the foundation of this body, I at least started from there at the same place. I don't know enough about human growth to say if my own process has sped up at all."

Juleka waved it off. "Either way, Ross, do you think that would work? You might need to find a new job, but if you don't mind mooching off your boyfriend's fortune he could get you started."

Ross shook his head. "Josh had enough money saved for me to share an apartment with y'all while I go job hunting. I'm down if you guys are."

"Hey," Adrien said, "I'd gladly help you out. You don't need to dig into your savings."

"I love you, Adrien, but no. I'll survive. Trust me." Ross smirked. "If I really can't find a job, then I'll let you pay, alright? At least let me try to do this myself."

"If you're sure."

Juleka chuckled. "Well, Adrien? Want to live with us, or stay in the mansion?"

"With you, please." He said without hesitation. "Of course, with you."

Alya nodded along. "That's great and all." She said. "What are you going to tell Mr. Keaton?"

Everyone looked to Ross. He shrugged. "The truth." He signed.

And the truth was exactly what he told Arthur Keaton. It was actually really convenient, since once Arthur had gotten over the whole "Oh, thank Arceus you're okay I was so worried" thing, fussing over him, he was able to tell Arthur exactly why he left in the first place. The truth. And that was a perfect segue to the idea of getting an apartment with his friends who even Arthur would admit knew what Ross was feeling much better than he did.

"It's good for all of us." Juleka said. "To be with other people who were there. That's what I think. And we've basically been living together for months anyway, right boys?"

Ross knew it was stretching the truth a bit. Them three in particular hadn't been living together very long at all, since their journey was split into parts where either he or Adrien was missing, but it was still a reasonable argument. "I'm not just leaving." He signed, with Adrien translating. "I still want to have a relationship with you – I'm not walking out or anything. I just want my own life, not Josh's."

Arthur sniffed, overcome. He shook his head. "Okay. I know you're not asking for permission – you wouldn't listen either way. I know you that well, at least."

Ross had to resist chuckling. To Juleka and Adrien, he signed, "He's not wrong."

"Just please keep in touch. And visit, when you can."

Adrien didn't even wait for Ross to sign when he answered for him. "Of course."


End file.
